Who shares COVID-19 misinformation in Australia: A science communication approach

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Australians encountered false information about the disease and the virus that caused it. This misinformation was often spread by other Australians without knowing, or perhaps caring, whether they were true or not. Many of these messages contained suggestions that would be harmful if adopted. There is now heightened urgency within the academic community and across public health agencies to understand why some people share this potentially harmful information with other people. Previous research has found that personal factors, like attitudes, worldviews, or a tendency to avoid analytic thinking, are associated with individual differences in misinformation-sharing behaviour. However, there is an intense academic debate about which of these factors are the most powerful predictors and for whom. Much of this debate has focused on social media, on topics of politics rather than topics of science, and has focused on other national contexts. This means that the predictors for sharing misinformation about COVID-19 in Australia through any communication channel are currently unknown. This thesis contributes to this debate in the context of COVID-19 in Australia. It finds the first evidence for the integrative account for misinformation-sharing behaviour, building on previous findings that established this account for the forming of misinformation beliefs. This integrative account suggests that an individual's tendency to engage in analytic thinking predicts their willingness to share misinformation, but this tendency is secondary to sharing information that is congruent with personal attitudes. While political orientation traditionally forms this preference component of the integrative model for political topics, this dissertation finds that conspiratorial ideation about COVID-19 is instead the most useful predictor for this topic of science. This was found both at an individual level and through an audience segmentation analysis of a quota-matched national sample. Science communication professionals may be able to use these findings to develop effective and well-targeted communication strategies and other responses aimed at discouraging the spread of false and harmful information during future infectious disease emergencies. Show more