According to our newly published research, people who use a lot of social media news are more likely to be suspicious of the COVID-19 vaccine and also more hesitant about getting vaccinated. But we found that social media users with a higher level of news literacy trusted COVID-19 snapshots more. Another study has found that a heavy reliance on social media has exposed individuals to COVID-19-related misinformation, particularly about vaccine effectiveness.
During the pandemic in 2020, we measured the skepticism of social media users about developing a COVID-19 vaccine and how likely they will be if it is available.
We also assessed the participants’ news literacy by asking nine questions that test how well they know how journalism works – for example, identifying which institutions carry out journalism. their own reports rather than aggregating news and publications that are for-profit. You can take the quiz to test your own level of media understanding.
In our study, participants with a low level of news literacy, meaning that they answered only three out of nine questions correctly, on average, were more likely to hesitate about vaccines than those with low levels of news literacy. medium (four to six correct answers) or high (seven or more correct answers) level of understanding of the news.
We infer that misinformation and misinformation about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines spread through social media translates into vaccine hesitancy, especially among those less knowledgeable about the distribution of the vaccine. Differentiate between real and fake news. Our conclusions are consistent with the findings of other researchers that media literacy is an effective intervention against misinformation.
Why is it important?
During the pandemic, people have largely relied on social media for entertainment, stress relief, and news related to the coronavirus.
For example, a 2021 report by the Pew Research Center found that about half of Americans rely on social media for news about COVID-19. As a result, social media users have been exposed to misinformation about the coronavirus and skepticism among scientists and public health organizations regarding COVID-19 is growing. Health misinformation on social media can also lead people to form false beliefs about public health interventions like vaccines.
Despite the availability of a vaccine series in the United States, only 49% of the population completed the primary series of COVID-19 and received a booster shot by October 19, 2022. A March 2022 study by the Centers for Control and Disease Prevention and Control found that unvaccinated people were 12 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated individuals.
Vaccination helps reduce the harmful effects of COVID-19. Anything that erodes trust in footage is important to public health.
What other research is being done?
An important job is investigating people who are potentially vulnerable to COVID-19 misinformation. For example, a 2020 study found that heavy social media users who are also politically conservative are more susceptible to COVID-19-related misinformation than non-conservatives.
Researchers have also tested ways to reduce misconceptions about COVID-19. In one case, the World Health Organization designed and released publicly shareable infographics that debunked various coronavirus myths. One study found that exposure to infographics reduced belief in the specific COVID-19 myth being targeted. The effect is the same whether the image is shared by the World Health Organization or by an anonymous person Facebook user.
How we do our work
Our research is based on online survey data collected in the United States at two different times – once in late September 2020 and then four weeks before the US presidential election. Our initial sample of 2,000 participants was selected to closely match the entire US population in terms of age, gender distribution, and political affiliation. Participants rated high, medium, or low for both COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and media literacy based on our questionnaire.
The follow-up sampled 673 participants. Examining our participants a month later allowed us to confirm their beliefs were consistent on multiple occasions.
