Abstract
Misinformation about COVID-19 is a major threat to public health. Using five national samples from the UK (n = 1050 and n = 1150), Ireland (n = 700), the USA (n = 700), Spain (n = 700) and Mexico (n = 700), we examine predictors of belief in the most common statements about the virus that contain misinformation. We also investigate the prevalence of belief in COVID-19 misinformation across different countries and the role of belief in such misinformation in predicting relevant health behaviours. We find that while public belief in misinformation about COVID-19 is not particularly common, a substantial proportion views this type of misinformation as highly reliable in each country surveyed. In addition, a small group of participants find common factual information about the virus highly unreliable. We also find that increased susceptibility to misinformation negatively affects people's self-reported compliance with public health guidance about COVID-19, as well as people's willingness to get vaccinated against the virus and to recommend the vaccine to vulnerable friends and family. Across all countries surveyed, we find that higher trust in scientists and having higher numeracy skills were associated with lower susceptibility to coronavirus-related misinformation. Taken together, these results demonstrate a clear link between susceptibility to misinformation and both vaccine hesitancy and a reduced likelihood to comply with health guidance measures, and suggest that interventions which aim to improve critical thinking and trust in science may be a promising avenue for future research.
Highlights
Subject Category: Psychology and cognitive neuroscience Subject Areas: psychology/behaviour Keywords: COVID-19, misinformation, fake news, vaccine hesitancy
To measure participants’ belief in misinformation about COVID-19, we presented them with nine statements about the virus, six of which represent common examples of health-related and political misinformation (e.g. ‘5G networks may be making us more susceptible to the coronavirus’ and ‘Gargling salt water or lemon juice reduces the risk of infection from Coronavirus’), two of which were common factual statements (e.g. ‘People with diabetes are at higher risk of complications from coronavirus’) and one of which was not false but ambiguous (Taking ibuprofen when you are infected could make your symptoms worse)
Correlations between the perceived reliability of the six COVID-19 misinformation items range between r = 0.288 and r = 0.583 and are strongest between the three conspiracy statements ranging between r = 0.454 and r = 0.583
Summary
Subject Category: Psychology and cognitive neuroscience Subject Areas: psychology/behaviour Keywords: COVID-19, misinformation, fake news, vaccine hesitancy. We find that higher trust in scientists and having higher numeracy skills were associated with lower susceptibility to coronavirus-related misinformation. Taken together, these results demonstrate a clear link between susceptibility to misinformation and both vaccine hesitancy and a reduced likelihood to comply with health guidance measures, and suggest that interventions which aim to improve critical thinking and trust in science may be a promising avenue for future research. The proliferation of misinformation online, along with its real-life adverse effects on society and public health [15], has prompted researchers to investigate what may explain people’s belief in false information and conspiracy theories. Researchers have noted several important motivational drivers as predictors of belief in misinformation: lower trust in science and scientists [18,19,20,21], lower trust in journalists and the mainstream media [22], lower trust in government [23,24,25], as well as the role of political ideology, conservatism [7,26,27,28,29,30]
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