In times of isolation, social media serves as a window to the rest of the world. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok– a rising video-sharing social media platform– are being used to bring people together as COVID-19 sweeps the globe. The platforms are being used for the communication of important and helpful information.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 4 in every 10 Americans get their news from social media platforms, a percentage which is even higher for young adults. Young adults prefer to quickly open up apps like Facebook over turning on the TV. They like easy access to news, and social media provides news at their fingertips.
The Positive Effects of Social Media
As fewer Americans rely on TV news, social media platforms often reach a larger number of people. Organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) use these platforms to share important information. Though WHO has 7.5 million followers, their posts often reach many more. Each post typically gets shared over 15,000 times. One Facebook user writes “thank you for keeping us informed, and for all your leadership”, and another writes “thanks for sharing!”
On Twitter, trending hashtags such as #StayAtHome, promoted by the federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), encourage people to practice social distancing. Similarly, Instagram users can now use “stay home” stickers on their InstaStories. These stickers place their posts in front of stories that do not use the sticker. This incentivizes Instagram users to use the sticker and spread the word. On TikTok, any post tagged with the hashtag #Coronavirus is linked to an information page, informing users on how to protect themselves and about common myths regarding COVID-19.
Organizations are not the only ones using social media to spread information on preventative measures. Communities around the world have organized information exchange groups on Facebook. The exchange groups often communicate important updates, where to find necessities and ways to stay safe. These groups connect people. This creates a sense of community in times of isolation.
The Negative Effects of Social Media
social media also feeds into ever-growing paranoia and confusion through the spread of misinformation.
Recently, a news organization, Now8News, published an article that claimed that the CDC announced that COVID-19 had been found in packages of toilet paper.
However, because of social media, the new article quickly infected many around the world. It instilled panic amongst many, wreaking havoc. People began fearing the same toilet paper that they were so desperate to obtain just days before.
The spread of fake claims has also led to racism against Chinese civilians. Earlier this year, a claim that “Chinese passengers from Wuhan with fever slipped through the quarantine at Kansai International Airport” spread through social media. Kansai International Airport quickly denied this claim. It was too late. Soon, in Japan #ChineseDon’tComeToJapan was trending on Twitter, and many were tagging Chinese nationals with derogatory epithets.
Social media has also aided in the spread of fake cures and claims. One such “cure” claims that if someone drinks water and gargles warm water with salt or vinegar, they will eliminate the virus. Another claims that hot air kills the virus. These “cures” are simply inaccurate and incite false hope in credulous readers.
Why Fake News is Spreading
People like clarity; they want to have all the answers. In a time when the scientific community is still trying to understand the virus, such fake cures and claims intrigue and ensnare readers, racking up likes and shares in the process.
The issue at hand is the rapid proliferation of false information. Bogus cures and claims spread through social media platforms like wildfires, because, in the end, they are what many social media users want to see. Most social media users read a post for 15 seconds or less, and typically scroll through their phone until something catches their eye– often a headline or tweet that says “Cure to the Coronavirus: We are all Saved” rather than “The Scientific Community still does not know if warm weather will stop the outbreak of the Coronavirus.”
Though it is nice to have news at our fingertips, we must not become complacent. Remember to fact check statistics, and do not share a post if you do not know if it is true. Stay safe from fake news.