Fake News And Covid-19 Information Verification Practices Amongst Social Media Users And Non-Users In Accra

Abstract

It has been widely observed by the World Health Organization that the Covid-19 pandemic simultaneously exists with an “infodemic”, a term adopted to mean the abundance of misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic. This study sought to investigate how Ghanaian social media users and non-users in Accra verified the views they held about the Covid-19 virus and pandemic. To guide the fulfilment of this objective, the study used Mead’s theory of self-indication and Parson’s social action theory to explain why people held misinformed views about the Covid-19 pandemic, why they chose to verify certain pieces of information whilst acting on others without verification, and how they verified information. The study was qualitative in nature and data was obtained through in-depth interviews with twenty participants in Accra, ten of whom were social media users and ten of whom were non-social media users. The study found that in addition to holding medically-endorsed views on Covid-19, most participants held views that have been dismissed as inaccurate at best or harmful at worst. Some of these views were that the Covid-19 virus is a deliberate human creation, that the sun provided protection for Ghanaians against Covid-19, and that local remedies such as neem tree and saline were effective in protecting one from contracting the virus and for treatment. The main reason for the prevalence of misinformation amongst participants was that most participants usually shared any received information with others without verifying because they trusted the source of information. Participants only verified information on Covid-19 if the information was opposed to their existing views, had substantial consequences if false or true, or due to a recognition that misinformation is rampant. For participants who used social media, checking the internet for concordant information was the main means of verification. For participants who did not use social media, verification mainly occurred by waiting for the information to be corroborated by traditional media sources.