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Assessing Mechanisms Underlying the Sharing of Official and Unofficial Information during a Pandemic

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  • Stephanie Jean Tsang

    (Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Xinyan Zhao

    (Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA)

  • Yi-Ru Regina Chen

    (Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract

The COVID-19 disease outbreak has seen mixed information flows comprising top-down communication from health authorities to the public and citizen-to-citizen communication. This study aimed to identify mechanisms underlying the sharing of official versus unofficial information during the outbreak. Survey findings based on a nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 856) showed that individuals’ predispositions affected their information consumption and affective experiences, leading to distinct types of information-sharing behaviors. While anger toward the U.S. government’s outbreak response was directly associated with unofficial information sharing, anxiety was directly associated with official information sharing. These findings enhance our understanding of the propagation of different kinds of pandemic information and provide implications for public education on information verification based on source authoritativeness.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephanie Jean Tsang & Xinyan Zhao & Yi-Ru Regina Chen, 2021. "Assessing Mechanisms Underlying the Sharing of Official and Unofficial Information during a Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13298-:d:704935
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    References listed on IDEAS

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