An Assessment of the Use of Social Media in the Campaign Against the Spread of Corona Virus Disease in Portharcourt City Lga
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study was to carry out an assessment of the use of social media in the campaign against the spread of corona virus disease in Port Harcourt City LGA. Specific objectives of the study are:
- To examine the major social media platforms used to curb the spread of fake information of COVID19.
- To analyse the different misinformation on COVID19 spread in the internet.
- To recommend the best way to stop the spread of fake information on covid19.
- To examine the public perception of social media contribution in the fight against fake information on covid19 in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Impact of Fake News on Public Health
Fake news concerning health on social media represents a risk to global health. The WHO warned in February 2020 that the COVID-19 outbreak had been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic’, or an overabundance of information—some of which was accurate and some of which was not—which made it difficult for people to find reliable sources and trustworthy information when they needed it. The consequences of disinformation overload are the spread of uncertainty, fear, anxiety and racism on a scale not seen in previous epidemics, such as SARS, MERS and Zika. Therefore, the WHO is dedicating tremendous efforts aimed at providing evidence-based information and advice to the population through its social media channels, such as Weibo, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest, as well as through its website. The MIT Technology Review highlights that social media are not only being used to spread false news and hate messages but are also being used to share important truthful data and solidarity with all those affected by the virus and hate messages.
We are in what some have called the second information revolution. The first information revolution began with the spread of the written word through the press. Now, in this second information revolution, a digital transformation is shaping how citizens around the world interact with each other. We are facing an unprecedented global expansion in the ways we share, access and create information that is presented in many forms—one of which is social media.
From diverse fields of knowledge linked to health issues, it can be stated that social media can have both a positive and a negative impact on public health. On the one hand, the combination of artificial intelligence and big data can help public health providers identify pandemic diseases in real time, improving the coordination of the response of public health systems through information sharing and improving surveillance and diagnostics. Furthermore, research shows that social media information and social media responses are effective strategies to gain feedback on potential public health policy proposals. This positive impact of social media in health has been demonstrated in a recent study about heat protection policy for Australian schools, which, through the analysis of public comments posted on a national Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) website, identifies the themes to support a national heat protection policy for schools.
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHOD
Research design
Research design is the strategy employed by a researcher for conducting academic research by addressing research objectives, research questions by collecting, interpreting and analyzing data (Wright et al. 2016). This study used a descriptive survey design method. The survey research design was used because the study relied on primary data collected from sampled respondents.
Population and sampling of the study
The population of a study represents the total number of individuals from whom the study data was gathered in the study area. The population of this study consisted of random users of social media in Port Harcourt city.
In research, sampling is the systematic selection of respondents from a population. This study employed a simple random sampling method to select its sample. The researcher randomly selected 516 respondents for the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
As media experts and educators, we have an important role to play both now and in the future of Port Harcourt city dwellers. We must work to educate media consumers on what constitutes good and reliable information and how to critically think through this information. Since younger people are also consuming information from social media and then spreading it to their family and friends, universities are ideal places to design courses and symposiums that can help students and faculty discern how to search for, find, and evaluate health information in the case of an epidemic or pandemic.
Recommendations
The study suggests the need for increased campaign on the use of social media for coronavirus pandemic and other health participation. This is so as the result obtained showed that social media did not yield positive result in influencing majority of the respondents to connect and participate in interpersonal and small group associations. The need to connect and participate in such forum should be explained to the students by having a campaign on campus mostly during students’ week. This will create necessary awareness on the need to connect to such sites. Undergraduates who are already connected to the site can also help by encouraging their friends, sibling and relative of the existence of such online HIV discussion forum and the benefits of connecting to the site. Users of social media platforms should not shy to communicate and share coronavirus pandemic information on social media.
Limitations
There were various research limitations, most importantly these are self-reported data from self-selected participants, and the lockdown period was a constraint to gather more representative data. It was difficult to find participants who wished to participate in this study.
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