Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern's response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

The leading source of false claims about COVID-19? Hint: it’s not Facebook or Twitter.

People in this story

Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Minorities and younger people are more susceptible to fake news and misinformation about COVID-19, and younger generations are also more likely to believe false claims they receive on closed messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, according to a new national survey led by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers universities.

The findings—released on Wednesday amid what scholars and public health officials have described as a “parallel epidemic of misinformation” around the COVID-19 pandemic—are the result of a study that gauged people’s acceptance of 11 false claims that have circulated online since the beginning of the crisis. It is the ninth in a series of surveys the researchers have been conducting since April examining attitudes and behaviors regarding the coronavirus crisis in the United States. 

David Lazer, university distinguished professor of political science and computer and information sciences at Northeastern, and one of the researchers who conducted the study, says the findings suggest closed messaging applications could be a vector of misinformation.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

The Center for International Affairs and World Cultures hosts a panel with a pair of scholars on the future of the Middle East peace process. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

After ceasefire deal, how can mediators create a lasting peace in Gaza? Experts unravel the task

02.05.2025
Police responders at the aftermath of Swedish school shooting.

Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting highlights global reality of gun violence, Northeastern criminologist says

02.05.2025
A drawing depicts steam engines in America.

What is Jevons Paradox? And why it may — or may not — predict AI’s future

02.07.25
All Stories