KENYAN, SA SOCIAL MEDIA USERS SHARE COVID POSTS
THE Covid-19 pandemic has led to widespread disinformation circulating on social media globally.
This includes false information about the virus, its origins and possible cures for the disease it causes.
Much of the inaccurate information was related to China, the country where the first cases of an atypical pneumonia were reported in December 2019.
Previous research has shown that media users in Kenya and South Africa believe they are often exposed to disinformation.
Research has also shown that Kenyan and South African social media users are very likely to share such information, even if they suspect or know it to be false.
This occurs against the background of a steep increase in disinformation in Africa in recent years, often linked to a lack of trust in the news media.
In April last year we surveyed 970 adult social media users in Kenya and 991 in South Africa to understand how they engaged with disinformation about China and Covid-19.
The goal of our study was to investigate the link between social media users’ attitudes towards China and their motivations to share disinformation related to Covid-19 and China.
To do so, we showed participants sample hoaxes and debunked rumours related to Covid-19 and China. We then asked them whether they believed the posts were true or not, and why they would or would not share them.
We retrieved the four debunked social media posts from the collection of fact-checks available on the website Fact Check.
We found that, at the peak of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, both Kenyans and South Africans held broadly negative views of China. They believed that China was governed less competently and honestly than the US. Respondents appeared to acknowledge the positive impact of Chinese economic engagement with Africa, but were still relatively critical of Beijing’s policies on other domains such as its governance, respect for civic rights, protection of the environment and media freedom.
Nevertheless, respondents offered resistance to certain xenophobic or racist messaging and attribution of blame to China.
For example, although 39% of South Africans and 49% of Kenyans strongly supported closing their borders to foreign travellers, the majority agreed that attributing blame to China by referring to the “Chinese coronavirus” or the “Wuhan disease” was racist.
The majority of South Africans and Kenyans did not believe the hoaxes or rumours, and trusted scientists. But, a significant number showed an interest in sharing the hoax or rumour posts – even if they did not necessarily believe them. For instance, 40% of Kenyans and 29% of South Africans believed the (fake) post about an alleged fight between Chinese and Kenyans on the streets of Wuhan was true.
The most common motivation to share these social media posts was a perceived moral or civic duty to share information (whether true or not) and raise awareness about an issue.
If organisations and fact checkers know what factors motivate people to consume and share disinformation, they can develop interventions that are better suited to particular behaviour patterns and contexts.