Keywords
rumors
fact-checking
COVID-19
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction. Global social media users currently exceed 5 billion, more than half of the Earth’s population [1]. Every day social media users view and post various information, much of which is unverifed or outright false. Many rumors are spread on the platforms of world giants Facebook and WeChat. Moreover, although the platforms are making signifcant efforts to fght fakes and unverifed information, the spread of rumors is still a severe problem. It needs more active study and additional countermeasures.
Relevance of the study. The period of COVID-19 pandemic is an indicative period for studying the causes and methods of spreading rumors on social media and the mechanisms that social media platforms use to counter the spread of rumors. Therefore, our article aims to determine the features of the spread of rumors on the Facebook and WeChat platforms and compare the mechanisms for countering the spread of false information.
Methodology. The research involved a complex of general scientifc and special methods. We resorted to critical analysis of scientifc literature and data analysis from open sources. We also monitored the content of social media platforms Facebook and WeChat and carried out a comparative analysis of the ways of spreading rumors and countermeasures implemented by these social media platforms.
Results. During the research, we established some features of the spread of rumors in the mentioned social networks related to the work of platform algorithms. We looked at the measures taken by two major social media platforms, WeChat and Facebook, to combat rumors during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was determined that both platforms use a set of measures to counter the spread of disinformation and fakes. Also, during the spread of COVID-19, Facebook and WeChat actively cooperated with global organizations in the healthcare feld, which contributed not only to countering the spread of rumors about the disease but also to the provision of operational information and public support.
Conclusions. Even though both global social media giants have actively implemented measures to counter the spread of rumors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of spreading false information on social media is still relevant. Considering the results of the study, we proposed our own set of measures aimed at checking facts and countering the spread of rumors in social media.
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