This study focuses on how scientifically-correct information is disseminated through social media, and how misinformation can be corrected. We have identified examples on Twitter where scientific terms that have been misused have been rectified and replaced by scientifically-correct terms through the interaction of users. The results show that the percentage of correct terms ("variant" or "COVID-19 variant") being used instead of the incorrect terms ("strain") on Twitter has already increased since the end of December 2020. This was about a month before the release of an official statement by the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases regarding the correct terminology, and the use of terms on social media was faster than it was in television. Some Twitter users who quickly started using the correct term were more likely to retweet messages sent by leading influencers on Twitter, rather than messages sent by traditional media or portal sites. However, a few Twitter users continued to use wrong terms even after March 2021, even though the use of the correct terms was widespread. Further analysis of their tweets revealed that they were quoting sources that differed from that of other users. This study empirically verified that self-correction occurs even on Twitter, which is often known as a "hotbed for spreading rumors." The results of this study also suggest that influencers with expertise can influence the direction of public opinion on social media and that the media that users usually cite can also affect the possibility of behavioral changes.
翻译:这项研究的重点是如何通过社交媒体传播科学正确的信息,以及如何纠正错误信息。我们已经在推特上找到一些例子,在这些例子中,被滥用的科学术语被纠正,并通过用户互动被科学正确的术语取代。结果显示,自2020年12月底以来,在推特上使用正确术语(“变异”或“COVID-19 变异”)而不是错误术语(“Strain”)的百分比已经增加。这是日本传染病协会发表关于正确术语的官方声明之前一个月,在社交媒体上使用术语的速度比在电视上要快。一些迅速开始使用正确术语的推特用户更有可能在推特上转发主要影响者发送的信息,而不是传统媒体或门户网站发送的信息。然而,即使在2021年3月之后,即使使用正确术语的情况很普遍,少数推特用户仍然使用错误的术语。对其推特的进一步分析显示,他们引用的信息来源不同于其他用户。这项研究经验性地证实,即使迅速使用正确术语的用户也很快开始使用正确的术语,因此更有可能在推特上转发信息,而通常也能够显示,社交媒体的影响力。