Category: Featured, News

Title: “Misinformation About COVID-19 and Venezuelan Migration: Trends in Twitter Conversation During a Pandemic” By Katharine M. Donato, Lisa Singh, Ali Arab, Elizabeth Jacobs, and Douglas Post

This paper asks whether and how – during the COVID-19 pandemic at a time of considerable uncertainty – current events and announcements by governments and political leaders are associated with trends in Twitter conversation. Using Spanish-language tweets, we examine the changing dynamics of misinformation conversation about the COVID-19 virus, international border closures, and the socio-political reception of Venezuelan migrants returning home during the pandemic amidst an ongoing refugee crisis. We identify specific events and statements made by governments and political leaders and assess how they relate to trends in conversation about COVID-19 and migration misinformation. Findings from an analysis of time-series data reveal that several specific announcements are associated with structural shifts in Twitter conversation, and that shifts in misinformation trajectories can take different forms. Read more here.