(324) TikTok’s Misinformation about COVID-19 Infections and Vaccinations on Male Fertility
Authors: Pandher M , Veliky J , Fastenau J , Fernandez Pedrosa G , Nguyen A , Sadeghi-Nejad H 
Published: May 2023

Introduction

The effect of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccine on male fertility has been a cause of controversy. Studies have found that while active or recovering COVID-19 disease can be associated with decreased sperm counts and quality, the COVID vaccine is not. Despite evidence about the lack of association between the COVID-19 vaccine and male fertility, social media platforms continue to contribute to the spread of misleading information. TikTok is a popular application that has become critical in this regard.

Objective

To identify the role TikTok contributes to misinformation around the COVID-19 virus, vaccination, and male infertility.

Methods

72 videos using the terms #covidvaccine and #malefertility were identified on Tiktok from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. Videos not related to the topic were excluded, leaving 58 videos. Videos were reviewed by five independent researchers. Information collected included video publication date, length, views, likes, comments, presence of US certified medical professional, demographic details of main subject, scientific article cited or displayed, belief held on COVID-19 vaccine, infection and infertility, modified DISCERN score and Patient Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). U.S. medical professional certification was determined using certificationmatters.org. The PEMAT score evaluated 17 items regarding understandability and actionability. The modified DISCERN based reliability score ranked quality from 1 = poor, to 5 = excellent. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistics software v24.

Results

The average video was 51 seconds long, received 34,678 views, 3,301 likes, and 160 comments. The main subject of the videos were predominantly female (53.4%) and white (55.2%). A majority of videos featured a medical professional (67.2%) and were published by medical professionals (63.8%). Up to 46.4% of videos featured a scientific article that was either cited or displayed on the screen. Most videos were of the opinion that the COVID-19 infection causes infertility in men (48.3%) but not the vaccine (37.9%). Only a select few videos believed that the vaccine was responsible for male infertility (6.9%). The most popular video stating the COVID vaccine caused infertility in men had 2,708 views, 336 likes, and 18 comments. The average DISCERN score for the 58 videos was 2.93, PEMAT Understandability score was 76.1%, and PEMAT Actionability score was 25.7%. With the presence of a certified US Medical Professional in the TikTok video, the average DISCERN score (2.00 vs. 3.38, p= .001), PEMAT Understandability Score (67.68 vs. 80.26, p = .015), and PEMAT Actionability Score (13.16 vs. 31.82, p = .024) increased significantly. Videos with medical professionals present had a lower average number of views (31,996 vs. 40179, p = .691), fewer likes (1,902 vs. 6,173, p = .290), and fewer comments (150 vs. 182, p = .737), but none of these differences were statistically significant.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that TikTok videos endorsing misinformation are popularly viewed. Among all the misinformation in social media, it is reassuring to see that there are medical professionals interested in promoting medically accurate information.

Disclosure

No