Framing the Origins of COVID-19

doi:10.1177/1075547020953603

. 2020 Oct;42(5):562-585.

doi: 10.1177/1075547020953603.

Framing the Origins of COVID-19

Toby Bolsen¹, Risa Palm¹, Justin T Kingsland¹

Affiliations

PMID: 38603006
PMCID: PMC7484600
DOI: 10.1177/1075547020953603

Framing the Origins of COVID-19

Toby Bolsen et al. Sci Commun. 2020 Oct.

. 2020 Oct;42(5):562-585.

doi: 10.1177/1075547020953603.

Authors

Toby Bolsen¹, Risa Palm¹, Justin T Kingsland¹

Affiliation

¹ Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.

PMID: 38603006
PMCID: PMC7484600
DOI: 10.1177/1075547020953603

Abstract

Conspiracy theories have flourished about the origins of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes an acute respiratory syndrome (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) in humans. This article reports the results from a study that evaluates the impact of exposure to framed messages about the origins of COVID-19. We tested four hypotheses: two focusing on its origins as either zoonotic or human-engineered and two concerning the impacts of origin beliefs on the desire to penalize China or support increased funding for biomedical research. The results accentuate the importance of finding ways to combat the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories related to this global pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; conspiracies; framing; public opinion.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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References

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[1] Abd-Alrazaq A., Alhuwail D., Househ M., Hamdi M., Shah Z. (2020). Top concerns of tweeters during the COVID-19 pandemic: Infoveillance study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4), Article e19016. 10.2196/19016 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[2] Abd-Alrazaq A., Alhuwail D., Househ M., Hamdi M., Shah Z. (2020). Top concerns of tweeters during the COVID-19 pandemic: Infoveillance study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4), Article e19016. 10.2196/19016 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[3] Alicke M. D. (2000). Culpable control and the psychology of blame. Psychological Bulletin, 126(4), 556-574. 10.1037/0033-2909.126.4.556 - DOI - PubMed

[4] Alicke M. D. (2000). Culpable control and the psychology of blame. Psychological Bulletin, 126(4), 556-574. 10.1037/0033-2909.126.4.556 - DOI - PubMed

[5] Ames D. L., Fiske S. T. (2015). Perceived intent motivates people to magnify observed harms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(12), 3599-3605. 10.1073/pnas.1501592112 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Ames D. L., Fiske S. T. (2015). Perceived intent motivates people to magnify observed harms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(12), 3599-3605. 10.1073/pnas.1501592112 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Ballew M., Bergquist P., Goldberg M., Gustafson A., Kotcher J., Marlon J., Roess A., Rosenthal S., Maibach E., Leiserowitz A. (2020). American public responses to COVID-19, April 2020. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication & George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/am...

[8] Ballew M., Bergquist P., Goldberg M., Gustafson A., Kotcher J., Marlon J., Roess A., Rosenthal S., Maibach E., Leiserowitz A. (2020). American public responses to COVID-19, April 2020. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication & George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/am...

[9] Baron R. M., Kenny D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182. 10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 - DOI - PubMed

[10] Baron R. M., Kenny D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182. 10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 - DOI - PubMed

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Framing the Origins of COVID-19

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Framing the Origins of COVID-19

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