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. 2023 Aug 1;6(8):e2328928.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.28928.

Communication of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media by Physicians in the US

Sahana Sule  1 , Marisa C DaCosta  1 , Erin DeCou  1 , Charlotte Gilson  1 , Kate Wallace  1 , Sarah L Goff  1
Affiliations

Communication of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media by Physicians in the US

Sahana Sule et al. JAMA Netw Open. .

Erratum in

  • Errors in Quotes and Dates.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Oct 2;6(10):e2341471. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.41471. JAMA Netw Open. 2023. PMID: 37878317 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Importance: Approximately one-third of the more than 1 100 000 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths as of January 18, 2023, were considered preventable if public health recommendations had been followed. Physicians' propagation of misinformation about COVID-19 on social media and other internet-based platforms has raised professional, public health, and ethical concerns.

Objective: To characterize (1) the types of COVID-19 misinformation propagated by US physicians after vaccines became available, (2) the online platforms used, and (3) the characteristics of the physicians spreading misinformation.

Design, setting, and participants: Using US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection during the study window to define misinformation, structured searches of high-use social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Parler, and YouTube) and news sources (The New York Times, National Public Radio) were conducted to identify COVID-19 misinformation communicated by US-based physicians between January 2021 and December 2022. Physicians' state of licensure and medical specialty were identified. The number of followers for each physician on 4 major platforms was extracted to estimate reach and qualitative content analysis of the messages was performed.

Main outcomes and measures: Outcome measures included categories of COVID-19 misinformation propagated, the number and traits of physicians engaged in misinformation propagation, and the type of online media channels used to propagate misinformation and potential reach.

Results: The propagation of COVID-19 misinformation was attributed to 52 physicians in 28 different specialties across all regions of the country. General misinformation categories included vaccines, medication, masks, and other (ie, conspiracy theories). Forty-two physicians (80.8%) posted vaccine misinformation, 40 (76.9%) propagated information in more than 1 category, and 20 (38.5%) posted misinformation on 5 or more platforms. Major themes identified included (1) disputing vaccine safety and effectiveness, (2) promoting medical treatments lacking scientific evidence and/or US Food and Drug Administration approval, (3) disputing mask-wearing effectiveness, and (4) other (unsubstantiated claims, eg, virus origin, government lies, and other conspiracy theories).

Conclusions and relevance: In this mixed-methods study of US physician propagation of COVID-19 misinformation on social media, results suggest widespread, inaccurate, and potentially harmful assertions made by physicians across the country who represented a range of subspecialties. Further research is needed to assess the extent of the potential harms associated with physician propagation of misinformation, the motivations for these behaviors, and potential legal and professional recourse to improve accountability for misinformation propagation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Wallace reported contributing to this work while she was a student at University of Massachusetts Amherst, before and outside of her official capacity as a government employee. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure.
Figure.. Distribution of Physicians Propagating Misinformation by State
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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