Bots and Misinformation Spread on Social Media: Implications for COVID-19

J Med Internet Res. 2021 May 20;23(5):e26933. doi: 10.2196/26933.

Abstract

As of March 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been responsible for over 115 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in over 2.5 million deaths. As the virus spread exponentially, so did its media coverage, resulting in a proliferation of conflicting information on social media platforms-a so-called "infodemic." In this viewpoint, we survey past literature investigating the role of automated accounts, or "bots," in spreading such misinformation, drawing connections to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also review strategies used by bots to spread (mis)information and examine the potential origins of bots. We conclude by conducting and presenting a secondary analysis of data sets of known bots in which we find that up to 66% of bots are discussing COVID-19. The proliferation of COVID-19 (mis)information by bots, coupled with human susceptibility to believing and sharing misinformation, may well impact the course of the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Twitter; bots; coronavirus; disinformation; fake news; infodemic; infodemiology; infoveillance; misinformation; online communities; public health; social listening; social media; spambots.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • Communication*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification
  • Social Media / statistics & numerical data*