open questions for th eeffect of fake news on social media during COVID-19
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
The paper reviews research that studies the impact of fake news on social media during COVID19. It highlights three main effects: “increased health infodemics, increased time pass and entertainment, and increased socio-political and religious conflicts.”
It is requested to clarify the contribution of this topic by presenting interesting open questions and compare contradictory hypotheses by collecting data from different sources (at least 10 sources with references).
By answering to the following suggestions, the paper
Here are examples of open questions that we want to consider:
1. There are three sources of fake news. Unanimous sources, sources with deceptive identity, and sources with confirmed identity. Elon Musk (and many other people) appear to believe that it is important to let sources with confirmed identity express their view. This belief suggests that sources with confirmed ability are not likely to spread problematic fake news. Under this belief, exposing people to the views of sources with conformed identity, will reduce the negative impact of fake news. In contrast, many researchers (and the previous owners of Twitter) think that confirming identity is not enough. It would be interesting to compare these hypotheses. It is possible, that part of the research reviewed in the current paper can help shed light on this important question. For example, the findings that short videos presentations of known speakers have larger counterproductive effect, suggests that confirmation of identity is not enough.
2. It is constructive to distinguish between two types of COVID19 related fake news. Fake news that present an exaggerated description of the risk associated with the virus, and fake news that support the opposite view and suggest that the virus is not dangerous at all (and encourage people to violate WHO recommendations, and local regulations). It would be interesting to know which type of fake news were more common, and whether their relative popularity changed over time.
The analysis should help address the previous questions.(two pages will be enough, within 1.5 days)
It is requested to clarify the contribution of this topic by presenting interesting open questions and compare contradictory hypotheses by collecting data from different sources (at least 10 sources with references).
By answering to the following suggestions, the paper
Here are examples of open questions that we want to consider:
1. There are three sources of fake news. Unanimous sources, sources with deceptive identity, and sources with confirmed identity. Elon Musk (and many other people) appear to believe that it is important to let sources with confirmed identity express their view. This belief suggests that sources with confirmed ability are not likely to spread problematic fake news. Under this belief, exposing people to the views of sources with conformed identity, will reduce the negative impact of fake news. In contrast, many researchers (and the previous owners of Twitter) think that confirming identity is not enough. It would be interesting to compare these hypotheses. It is possible, that part of the research reviewed in the current paper can help shed light on this important question. For example, the findings that short videos presentations of known speakers have larger counterproductive effect, suggests that confirmation of identity is not enough.
2. It is constructive to distinguish between two types of COVID19 related fake news. Fake news that present an exaggerated description of the risk associated with the virus, and fake news that support the opposite view and suggest that the virus is not dangerous at all (and encourage people to violate WHO recommendations, and local regulations). It would be interesting to know which type of fake news were more common, and whether their relative popularity changed over time.
The analysis should help address the previous questions.(two pages will be enough, within 1.5 days)