Ahmed Alnuhayt, Suvodeep Mazumdar, Vitaveska Lanfranchi, & Frank Hopfgartner. (2022). Understanding Reactions to Misinformation – A Covid-19 Perspective. In Rob Grace, & Hossein Baharmand (Eds.), ISCRAM 2022 Conference Proceedings – 19th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 687–700). Tarbes, France.
Abstract: The increasing use of social media as an information source brings further challenges – social media platforms can be an excellent medium for disseminating public awareness and critical information, that can be shared across large populations. However, misinformation in social media can have immense implications on public health, risking the effectiveness of health interventions as well as lives. This has been particularly true in the case of COVID-19 pandemic, with a range of misinformation, conspiracy theories and propaganda being spread across social channels. In our study, through a questionnaire survey, we set out to understand how members of the public interact with different sources when looking for information on COVID-19. We explored how participants react when they encounter information they believe to be misinformation. Through a set of three behaviour tasks, synthetic misinformation posts were provided to the participants who chose how they would react to them. In this work in progress study, we present initial findings and insights into our analysis of the data collected. We highlight what are the most common reactions to misinformation and also how these reactions are different based on the type of misinformation.
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Dharma Dailey, & Kate Starbird. (2014). Visible skepticism: Community vetting after Hurricane Irene. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 777–781). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Social media enable rapid, peer-to-peer information flow during crisis events, affordances that have both positive and negative consequences. The potential for spreading misinformation is a significant concern. Drawing on an empirical study of information-sharing practices in a crisis-affected community in the Catskill Mountains after Hurricane Irene, this paper describes how an ad hoc group of community members, led by a handful of journalists, employed specific work practices to mitigate misinformation. We illustrate how the group appropriated specific tools and performed visible skepticism, among other techniques, to help control the spread of false rumors. These findings suggest implications for the design of tools and the development of best practices for supporting community-led, crowd-powered response efforts during disasters.
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Natalie D. Baker, Spyridon Samonas, & Kristine Artello. (2015). (Not) Welcome to the US: Hyper-Ebola and the Crisis of Misinformation. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: A hyperbolic portrayal of Ebola in the US resulted in a crisis of misinformation, when an actual outbreak never occurred. We study how online mass media uses discourse in the constitution of a culture of fear, and how non-expert actors (e.g. media) employ a specific line of discussion to legitimize actions outside of science. Strange nationalism is afantastical construction of foreign, invasive crises. This discourse was used in online media to create an imagined Ebola outbreak, which legitimized inappropriate disease management policies, since outbreak was positioned as fact. Information featured on mass media provides input to crisis and emergency management information systems, such as the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS). In this respect, online media play a key role in informing the public about crisis through the construction of real or imagined emergencies. How crisis is framed affects both public understanding and response by authorities.
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Shangde Gao, Yan Wang, & Lisa Platt. (2021). Modeling U.S. Health Agencies' Message Dissemination on Twitter and Users' Exposure to Vaccine-related Misinformation Using System Dynamics. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 333–344). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: This research intends to answer: how do (i) generation frequency and (ii) retweeting count of health agencies' messages impact the exposure of the general users to vaccine-related misinformation on Twitter? We creatively employed a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) System Dynamics paradigm to model interactions between message dissemination of 168 U.S. health agencies and proportions of users who are at different exposure statuses to misinformation, namely “Susceptible”, “Infected”, or “Recovered” status. The SIR model was built based on the vaccine-relevant tweets posted over November and December in 2020. Our preliminary outcomes suggest that augmenting the generation frequency of agencies' messages and increasing retweeting count can effectively moderate the exposure risk to vaccine-related misinformation. This model illustrates how health agencies may combat vaccine hesitancy through credible information dissemination on social media. It offers a novel approach for crisis informatics studies to model different information categories and the impacted population in the complex digital world.
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