inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf

inspiring canadians to live better.

healthing leaf
mosquito-borne diseases affect up to 700 million people each year. learn more
powered by: valneva canada inc.
home / 世界杯决赛2022

study tracks speedy spread of monkeypox misinformation on tiktok

“they’re so consistent: the rage, the conspiracy ideation — this idea that they have access to special knowledge.”

by madeline smith

oct 19 2022
read time 2 minute read
join the conversation
this electron microscope image made available by the centers for disease control and prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin in 2003. cynthia s. goldsmith, russell regner/cdc
a new university of alberta study shows how quickly extreme conspiracy theories about monkeypox spread on tiktok in the wake of news about outbreaks this past spring.
timothy caulfield and marco zenone of the u of a’s health law institute analyzed nearly 900 videos about monkeypox posted to the social media platform over a day in mid-may 2022, just after the world health organization (who) issued a statement about outbreaks of the disease in numerous countries where it isn’t endemic.
of those videos, 153 included a conspiracy theory or conspiracy themes, and within an average of 30 hours after posting, the videos got 1.5 million views, 75,000 likes and 14,000 shares.
to find the videos, they tried to replicate what a typical tiktok user might do if they were looking for information, checking the monkeypox hashtag.
caulfield said tuesday that the goal of the study was to see if they could use tiktok to track the emergence of conspiracy theories — and that’s what they found. tiktok is an entertainment platform, but it’s also become a go-to source of information and news, especially for young people.
conspiracies promoted in the videos included the false claims that the monkeypox outbreaks were somehow “planned” or that bill gates, the who or other “elites” orchestrated them for political purposes or to control the health system.
powered by
canadian centre for caregiving excellence

advertisement

caulfield said they align with the themes that emerged in conspiracy theories about covid-19 and what he calls the “infodemic” that surrounds it.
“we weren’t surprised that we saw those, but it really goes to how these conspiracy theories cluster,” he said, adding it shows how fringe ideas can be normalized via social media.
“they’re so consistent: the rage, the conspiracy ideation — this idea that they have access to special knowledge,” he said.
caulfield said the study shows the speed with which false information can emerge and start spreading, noting it’s important to push back.
“research tells us that if we create content that counters misinformation quickly, you’re more likely to have an impact,” he said.
“even if it sounds absurd, it’s still important to counter it.”
masmith@postmedia.com
@meksmith
powered by
obesity matters

comments

postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. we ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. we have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.