Non-pharmaceutical Interventions and the Infodemic on Twitter: Lessons Learned from Italy during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Lorenzo Cobianchi,Francesca Dal Mas,Paul Barach,Maurizio Massaro,Matteo La Torre,Paola Tamburro,Ronald Thomas

doi:10.1007/s10916-021-01726-7

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic changed expectations for information dissemination and use around the globe, challenging accepted models of communications, leadership, and social systems. We explore how social media discourse about COVID-19 in Italy was affected by the rapid spread of the virus, and how themes in postings changed with the adoption of social distancing measures and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI). We used topic modeling and social network analysis to highlight critical dimensions of conversations around COVID-19: 1) topics in social media postings about the Coronavirus; 2) the scope and reach of social networks; and 3) changes in social media content as the nation moved from partial to full social distancing. Twitter messages sent in Italy between February 11th and March 10th, 2020. 74,306 Tweets sent by institutions, news sources, elected officials, scientists and social media influencers. Messages were retweeted more than 1.2 million times globally. Non-parametric chi-square statistic with residual analysis to identify categories, chi-square test for linear trend, and Social Network Graphing. The first phase of the pandemic was dominated by social media influencers, followed by a focus on the economic consequences of the virus and placing blame on immigrants. As the crisis deepened, science-based themes began to predominate, with a focus on reducing the spread of the virus through physical distancing and business closures Our findings highlight the importance of messaging in social media in gaining the public’s trust and engagement during a pandemic. This requires credible scientific voices to garner public support for effective mitigation. Fighting the spread of an infectious disease goes hand in hand with stemming the dissemination of lies, bad science, and misdirection.

Highlights

Literature reviewSince it emerged as a global threat in early 2020, the COVID19 pandemic has affected health, human functioning and society on an unprecedented scale
We explore the content and messages in social media communications during the early stages of the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Italy, which numbers are reported in Appendix 1 (Table 4)
The results demonstrated, that during the most critical days, February 19th and 20th, when the first Italians tested positive for COVID-19 [46], the average percentage of retweets for influencers fell from 55% to 25% of the daily total, with scientific sources rising from an average of 8% to 42–48% of total tweets

Summary

Introduction

Literature reviewSince it emerged as a global threat in early 2020, the COVID19 pandemic has affected health, human functioning and society on an unprecedented scale. Effective implementation of containment and social distancing strategies requires social trust, given the threat of massive disruption to society and the economy [6]. In response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, many nations mandated all but essential businesses to be shuttered and for individuals to “shelter in place” to reduce the risk of transmission of the highly contagious virus. In Italy, as one of the first countries to be severely hit by the wave, the “#I-stay-home” campaign obliged citizens to avoid leaving their homes. This effort and similar programs in other nations require trust and public consensus, to engage a nation’s citizens as active co-participants in their own and their fellow citizen’s health and well-being [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion