Social Media and the Influence of Fake News on Global Health Interventions: Implications for a Study on Dengue in Brazil

Marie-Catherine Gagnon-Dufresne (), Mayana Azevedo Dantas, Kellyanne Abreu Silva, Jean Souza dos Anjos, Delano Pessoa Carneiro Barbosa, Rebeca Porto Rosa, William de Luca, Monica Zahreddine, Andrea Caprara, Valéry Ridde and Kate Zinszer
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Marie-Catherine Gagnon-Dufresne: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health of the University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada
Mayana Azevedo Dantas: Center for Health Sciences, Ceará State University, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Kellyanne Abreu Silva: Center for Health Sciences, Ceará State University, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Jean Souza dos Anjos: Center for Humanities, Ceará State University, Fortaleza 60020-181, CE, Brazil
Delano Pessoa Carneiro Barbosa: Kuya—Ceará Design Center, Fortaleza 60010-010, CE, Brazil
Rebeca Porto Rosa: Center for Health Sciences, Ceará State University, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
William de Luca: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health of the University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada
Monica Zahreddine: Center for Public Health Research, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Andrea Caprara: Center for Health Sciences, Ceará State University, Fortaleza 60714-903, CE, Brazil
Valéry Ridde: Population and Development Center, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, University of Paris, 75006 Paris, France
Kate Zinszer: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health of the University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3N 1X9, Canada

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 7, 1-10

Abstract: Social media usage is growing globally, with an exponential increase in low- and middle-income countries. Social media changes the ways in which information-sharing occurs, intensifying the population’s exposure to misinformation, including fake news. This has important repercussions for global health. The spread of fake news can undermine the implementation of evidence-based interventions and weaken the credibility of scientific expertise. This is particularly worrisome in countries, such as Brazil, in a sociopolitical context characterized by a lack of popular trust in public institutions. In this project report, we describe our experience with the spread of fake news through the social media platform WhatsApp during the implementation of a cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at reducing dengue incidence in children in Fortaleza (Brazil). During initial visits to selected clusters, the research team was met with resistance. Then, soon after data collection started, fake news began circulating about the study. As a result, the research team developed strategies to dispel suspicion and further promote the study. However, the climate of violence and mistrust, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, forced the interruption of the study in 2019. The lessons learned from our experience in Fortaleza can be useful to other researchers and practitioners implementing large-scale interventions in this era of health-related misinformation.

Keywords: fake news; social media; social acceptability; cluster randomized controlled trial; dengue; health interventions; global health; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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