Facebook Champion of COVID-19 Hoax Breeding Grounds

A report by the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford reveals that false news (hoaxes) and misinformation about COVID-19 spread across various countries. Among the most popular social media platforms, Facebook had the highest number of reported hoaxes.

28% of respondents stated they paid the most attention to information accessed on Facebook. The highest proportion of those most wary of misinformation came from the Philippines and Slovakia.

Meanwhile, 15% of respondents felt the need to pay attention to news accessed via messaging apps, such as WhatsApp. This was most frequently mentioned by respondents from Brazil, South Africa, and Colombia.

7% of respondents identified search engines, such as Google, as a source of hoaxes. Other social media platforms, such as YouTube and Twitter, also received attention regarding hoaxes that needed to be watched out for, as mentioned by 6% of respondents.

Various parties are responsible for the spread of misinformation. These include politicians, ordinary citizens, activists, journalists, and foreign governments.

The Reuters Institute collaborated with YouGov and its partners to distribute an online questionnaire. Data collection took place from late January to early February 2021. The questionnaire surveyed 92,732 respondents across 46 countries.