Health-related fake news on social media platforms: A systematic literature review

Abstract

This review aims to (a) investigate the characteristics of both the research community and the published research on health-related fake news on social media platforms, and (b) identify the challenges and provide recommendations for future research on the subject. We reviewed 69 journal articles found in the main academic databases up to April 2021. The studies extracted data mainly from Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Most articles aimed to investigate the public’s reaction to fake health information, concluding that health agencies and professionals should increase their online presence. The articles also suggest that future work should aim to improve the quality of health information on social media platforms, develop new tools and strategies to combat fake news sharing, and study the credibility of health information. Nonetheless, those in control of the platforms are the only ones which can take effective measures to ensure that their users receive reliable information.

The effect of disinformation about COVID-19 on consumer confidence: Insights from a survey experiment

“…The misinformation “tsunami” about COVID-19 has received extensive attention by the rapidly sprawling literature in communication, health sciences, and psychology that focused on (1) which cognitive processes may increase individual susceptibility to false information ( Bastick, 2021 ; Greifeneder et al, 2020 ; Pennycook & Rand, 2019 , 2021 ; Pennycook et al, 2018 , Vegetti & Mancosu, 2020 ), (2) how the social media ecosystem can facilitate the spread of misleading content ( Bridgman et al, 2020 ; Caldarelli et al, 2021 ; Papakyriakopoulos et al, 2021 ; Yang et al 2021 ) and (3) how disinformation impacts individual compliance with government COVID-19 guidelines and willingness to get vaccinated ( Dib et al, 2021 ; Kreps & Kriner, 2020 , Roozenbeek et al, 2020 ; Loomba et al 2021 ; Wilson & Wiysonge, 2021 ). A comprehensive discussion of this vast literature has been provided elsewhere (see Melchior, et al, 2021 ; Rocha et al, 2021 ). We single out studies that are most relevant to ours.…”

Student training for health communication in social media

“…Reliable information and effective communication are essential for health education at all levels. Access to health knowledge has been facilitated by social media platforms (SMP) and the internet, but some common problems are the low quality of health information, the sharing of fake news, and the deficient presence of health agencies and professionals, which challenge the credibility of health information 1 …”

“…Access to health knowledge has been facilitated by social media platforms (SMP) and the internet, but some common problems are the low quality of health information, the sharing of fake news, and the deficient presence of health agencies and professionals, which challenge the credibility of health information. 1 The dissemination of health information must be qualified, with content and language appropriate to the target audience. However, undergraduate students generally lack practical training in health communication and evidencebased dissemination and facilitation skills.…”

Fake News Detection Techniques on Social Media: A Survey

“…Network-based characteristics are retrieved and utilized to demonstrate the different processes by which various kinds of networks are built. It is critical to advance this basic work to investigate how additional networks can be created in terms of other characteristics of interactions among relevant individuals and posts and more important network modeling approaches, such as network embedding that can be used to describe connections [46].…”

“…Naive Objectivity. Consumers feel that their version of reality is the only correct one, and those who disagree are considered uneducated, illogical, or prejudiced [46].…”