Skip to content
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

YouTuber Mr. Beast leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the tunnel prior to an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023 in Tampa, Fla.

From the Ice Bucket Challenge to MrBeast — does ‘stunt philanthropy’ make the world a better place?

11.28.2023
Photo of the 2023 “Dialogue of Civilizations: Geneva

Geneva is the hub of world politics and Northeastern students are there learning how negotiations happen on a global scale

11.27.2023
A woman from the Indigenous people community speaks during a rally titled 'March to End Fossil Fuels' in New York City.

Mainstream environmental nonprofits get the most philanthropic support, at the expense of diverse organizations, research says

11.29.23
Northeastern Global News