Social Media Use and Misinformation Among Asian Americans During COVID-19

• Main Authors: Stella K. Chong (Author), Shahmir H. Ali (Author), Lan N. Ðoàn (Author), Stella S. Yi (Author), Chau Trinh-Shevrin (Author), Simona C. Kwon (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2296-2565; 10.3389/fpubh.2021.764681
• Keywords: Asian American; social media; misinformation; infodemic; COVID-19; mass media; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270
• Source: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol 9 (2022)

Social media has been crucial for seeking and communicating COVID-19 information. However, social media has also promulgated misinformation, which is particularly concerning among Asian Americans who may rely on in-language information and utilize social media platforms to connect to Asia-based networks. There is limited literature examining social media use for COVID-19 information and the subsequent impact of misinformation on health behaviors among Asian Americans. This perspective reviews recent research, news, and gray literature to examine the dissemination of COVID-19 misinformation on social media platforms to Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and South Asian Americans. We discuss the linkage of COVID-19 misinformation to health behaviors, with emphasis on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and vaccine decision-making in Asian American communities. We then discuss community- and research-driven responses to investigate misinformation during the pandemic. Lastly, we propose recommendations to mitigate misinformation and address the COVID-19 infodemic among Asian Americans.