Medical News Today: COVID-19 misinformation was 'entirely predictable,’ experts say

In today’s world of cultural politics, UC social media expert Professor Jefferey Blevins says “It seems that a lot of people look to social media not necessarily to find the ‘truth’ about anything, but rather to find information and commentary that supports their already-held views — hence, what social scientists call ‘confirmation bias.’”

Blevins, who heads UC’s Department of Journalism, said the above in an article where expers weighed in on a recent study at George Washington University. The research found: COVID-19 posts were 1.13 times more likely to link to credible sources than health-related posts prior to the pandemic. But among the COVID-19 posts that linked to “not credible” sources, these sources were 3.67 times more likely to contain misinformation.

Blevins recently published a UC study on the spread of medical misinformation during the earlier stages of the pandemic.

Read Blevins commentary on the GWU study, which he feels documents a situation that has worsened since spring 2020.

Featued image at top of Jeffrey Blevins. Photo/UC Creative + Brand.