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Communication of Uncertainty about Preliminary Evidence and the Spread of Its Inferred Misinformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Weibo Case Study

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  • Jiahui Lu

    (State Key Laboratory of Communication Content Cognition, People’s Daily Online, Beijing 100733, China
    School of New Media and Communication, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
    Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637718, Singapore)

  • Meishan Zhang

    (School of New Media and Communication, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

  • Yan Zheng

    (School of New Media and Communication, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
    School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore)

  • Qiyu Li

    (School of New Media and Communication, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

Abstract

The rapid spread of preliminary scientific evidence is raising concerns on its role in producing misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigated how the communication of uncertainty about preliminary evidence affects the spread of its inferred misinformation in a Weibo case study. In total, 3439 Weibo posts and 10,380 reposts regarding the misinformation of pets transmitting COVID-19 were analyzed. The results showed that attitude ambiguity toward the preliminary evidence and the stage when the evidence was first released with uncertainty were associated with higher numbers of likes and retweets of misinformation posts. Our study highlights the internal sources of misinformation and revisits the contextual perspective in misinformation studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiahui Lu & Meishan Zhang & Yan Zheng & Qiyu Li, 2021. "Communication of Uncertainty about Preliminary Evidence and the Spread of Its Inferred Misinformation during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Weibo Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:22:p:11933-:d:678491
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. May O. Lwin & Jiahui Lu & Anita Sheldenkar & Peter J. Schulz, 2018. "Strategic Uses of Facebook in Zika Outbreak Communication: Implications for the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, September.
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    3. Bev J. Holmes & Natalie Henrich & Sara Hancock & Valia Lestou, 2009. "Communicating with the public during health crises: experts' experiences and opinions," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 793-807, September.
    4. Jakob D. Jensen & Manusheela Pokharel & Courtney L. Scherr & Andy J. King & Natasha Brown & Christina Jones, 2017. "Communicating Uncertain Science to the Public: How Amount and Source of Uncertainty Impact Fatalism, Backlash, and Overload," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 40-51, January.
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