Abstract
Background
People are increasingly focusing on the infodemic related to EIDs on social media. Concerns about infodemics have focused on managing health-related rumors on social media platforms. The infodemic has garnered attention due to the assumed logic that applies in the case of an EID outbreak: disinformation spreads faster and further than fact-checked information. However, it is worth scrutinizing whether this assumption is unchallengeable.
Methods
Focusing on Douyin (TikTok in mainland China), this study collected data from the top 500 trending short videos using “monkeypox” as the keyword from May 1 to December 31, 2022. Under the guidance of Health Belief Model (HBM), the videos were coded using two sets of variables: type variables that distinguished between fact-checked information and disinformation; and content variables that were used as condition variables. Moreover, in the information content variable, this study combined the characteristics of audiovisual media and Chinese public demand, introducing efficacy information into the content variable. The study then used fsQCA to analyze the correlation and consistency between the video contents and the level of public sharing, which was the outcome variable.
Results
The results showed that there are three configurations of short video content related to monkeypox which can trigger a high level of sharing among the general public. It has been found that the number of fact-checked cases in the most widely disseminated short videos of monkeypox is 21.8:1 to the number of disinformation cases. Therefore, it can be concluded that fact-checked information is more likely to spread than disinformation in the case of an outbreak of EIDs on China's short video platforms. Based on the analysis of the three configurations, we also found that they separately form three paths of the short video communication model, and each path has a more significant variable playing a central role. We named each pathway after the core variable, which are Authoritative Source Path, Personal Efficacy Path, and Disinformation Path.
Conclusions
This study developed a model for information dissemination of EIDs and found that instead of disinformation, fact-checked content is more likely to spread on Chinese short video platforms. It also explores public demand for guidance on EIDs precautions.