Analysis of Fake News Appearing on Social Media During the Coronavirus, the Importance of the ’Infodemic’

Abstract

In December 2019, Covid–19, which is now well known and has since been declared a pandemic, emerged in Wuhan, a province in China. In spring 2020, the World Health Organization used the term ’infodemic’ – when too much information, including a lot of misinformation, about an outbreak appears – to highlight that not only the virus but also the disinformation about it is spreading around the world at the same rate. We are still living in this era, in the shadow of „post-truth”, where news is more often believed based on its emotional content rather than its veracity or source, significantly affecting the level of information in society. The main aim of my research is to investigate the pseudo-news and emotions associated with the Crown virus. Within this, I investigated the spread of fake news and its effects on the audience. Using keyword analysis of online platforms, I investigated the spread of fake news, its pace and why.