Misinformation in Conversations about Ticks and Tick-borne Disease in Public Facebook Groups

Abstract

Background Health-related misinformation on social media can negatively impact public health outcomes. Effective interventions to combat misinformation require an understanding of the underlying topics and their associated misperceptions. Ticks and the pathogens they carry are increasing worldwide, raising concerns about the disease burden these pathogens cause. Our goal is to identify prevalent misconceptions about ticks and tick-borne diseases to inform and restructure public health education efforts, thereby reducing the health burden related to tick-borne diseases. Methods We collected public Facebook posts and comments during summer 2021 and used summative content analysis to characterize misinformation themes. In total, 170 posts and 2483 comments were analyzed. Results A total of 30 posts (17% of the total) contained misinformation, the majority of which (78%) occurred in the context of tick biology and ecology and 5% and 4% were about repelling and removing ticks, respectively. Conclusions These findings suggest that public health education campaigns should focus on dispelling common misperceptions related to tick biology, ecology, and species identification.