![]() ![]() To try and provide a more current assessment of the accuracy and quality of information on coronavirus and COVID-19 on YouTube, the researchers searched the digital platform for the most widely viewed and relevant videos as of 21 March 2020.Īfter excluding those that were duplicates, in languages other than English, lasted more than an hour, or didn’t contain audio or visual content, around half of the initial number (69 out of 150 46%) were eligible for analysis. Published research shows that YouTube has been both a useful and misleading source of information in previous public health crises, such as the swine flu (HIN1) pandemic and the Ebola and Zika outbreaks.īut social media use has changed since these studies were published, added to which not all of them used validated measuring tools, say the researchers. ![]() While good quality accurate information put out by government bodies and experts is widely available on YouTube, it’s often hard to understand and lacks popular appeal, so doesn’t have the reach it needs, they add. Public health misinformation on COVID-19 is reaching far more people than in previous pandemics and has considerable potential for harm, warn the researchers. More than one in four of the most viewed COVID-19 videos on YouTube in spoken English contains misleading or inaccurate information, reveals the first study of its kind, published online in BMJ Global Health. Public health misinformation reaching far more people than in previous pandemics ![]() Misleading information in 1 in 4 most viewed YouTube COVID-19 videos in English
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