Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media

In order to uncover the current evidence and better understand the mechanism of misinformation spread, the authors report a systematic review of the nature and potential drivers of health-related misinformation.

A total of 57 articles were included for full-text analysis. Overall, they observed an increasing trend in published articles on health-related misinformation and the role of social media in its propagation. The most extensively studied topics involving misinformation relate to vaccination,Ebola and Zika Virus, although others, such as nutrition, cancer, fluoridation of water and smoking also featured. Studies adopted theoretical frameworks from psychology and network science, while co-citation analysis revealed potential for greater collaboration across fields.

Source: Systematic Literature Review on the Spread of Health-related Misinformation on Social Media

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