Abstract
BackgroundIndividuals with large followings can influence public opinions and behaviors, especially during a pandemic. In the early days of the pandemic, US president Donald J Trump has endorsed the use of unproven therapies. Subsequently, a death attributed to the wrongful ingestion of a chloroquine-containing compound occurred.ObjectiveWe investigated Donald J Trump’s speeches and Twitter posts, as well as Google searches and Amazon purchases, and television airtime for mentions of hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, azithromycin, and remdesivir.MethodsTwitter sourcing was catalogued with Factba.se, and analytics data, both past and present, were analyzed with Tweet Binder to assess average analytics data on key metrics. Donald J Trump’s time spent discussing unverified treatments on the United States’ 5 largest TV stations was catalogued with the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone, and his speech transcripts were obtained from White House briefings. Google searches and shopping trends were analyzed with Google Trends. Amazon purchases were assessed using Helium 10 software.ResultsFrom March 1 to April 30, 2020, Donald J Trump made 11 tweets about unproven therapies and mentioned these therapies 65 times in White House briefings, especially touting hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. These tweets had an impression reach of 300% above Donald J Trump’s average. Following these tweets, at least 2% of airtime on conservative networks for treatment modalities like azithromycin and continuous mentions of such treatments were observed on stations like Fox News. Google searches and purchases increased following his first press conference on March 19, 2020, and increased again following his tweets on March 21, 2020. The same is true for medications on Amazon, with purchases for medicine substitutes, such as hydroxychloroquine, increasing by 200%.ConclusionsIndividuals in positions of power can sway public purchasing, resulting in undesired effects when the individuals’ claims are unverified. Public health officials must work to dissuade the use of unproven treatments for COVID-19.
Highlights
Numerous treatments have been suggested for the novel COVID-19 disease, with only remdesivir recently showing some potential efficacy prior to its approval on May 1, 2020 [1]
The same is true for medications on Amazon, with purchases for medicine substitutes, such as hydroxychloroquine, increasing by 200%
Studies have reported that hydroxychloroquine can cause conduction disturbances and fatal arrhythmias [6], the supply of hydroxychloroquine may decrease for approved conditions like rheumatoid arthritis [7], and chloroquine is similar to chloroquine products that are used as aquarium cleaners, which may be toxic if ingested in large quantities [8]
Summary
Numerous treatments have been suggested for the novel COVID-19 disease, with only remdesivir recently showing some potential efficacy prior to its approval on May 1, 2020 [1]. The efficacy of other therapies, such as hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and azithromycin, remains unproven, though they have been praised by numerous public figures, such as US president Donald J Trump. Previous studies have shown that individuals with high influence (ie, individuals with large social capital or political power) [2] can affect public decisions and purchasing power [3]. Many of these individuals have the ability to affect content, sentiment, and public attention by using social media to http://www.jmir.org/2020/11/e20044/ XSLFO RenderX. Donald J Trump is one such individual who has previously influenced behavior through his high social presence on the internet and his political capital as the president of the United States [5]. A death attributed to the wrongful ingestion of a chloroquine-containing compound occurred
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