WhatsApp in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Digital misinformation has been flagged as a major risk of the 21st century, with an estimated cost of $78 billion to the global economy each year. Given this scope, we propose to characterize how misinformation is spread via messenger platforms (e.g. WhatsApp). Specifically, we seek to: Identify metrics of potential misinformation (Aim 1). This is based on the hypothesis that although message contents are highly private, proxy markers can be used to identify potential misinformation. Understand the base-rate by which misinformation is shared via messaging applications (Aim 2). This is founded on the hypothesis that misinformation is endemic on messaging platforms, and thus needs to be documented. Identify super spreaders responsible for sending and receiving a large volume of misinformation (Aim 3). Here, we hypothesise that a small group of super spreaders are responsible for the bulk of misinformation-sharing on messaging applications. The thrust of this work aligns with both government priorities and the grant's thematic areas, providing actionable findings that are timely amidst a worldwide surge of misinformation.

Official Title
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Characterising the Spread of COVID-19 Misinformation Through WhatsApp in India

Conditions
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Covid19

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Lived in India for more than 2 years, Currently Living in India Owns a WhatsApp account Exclusion Criteria: Not currently living in India Below the ages of 21 Has not lived in India for more than 2 years does not own a WhatsApp account Does not speak English or Hindi

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 21 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Community Sample<br>We plan to recruit a community sample of 1000 from the Indian Population. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WhatsApp Usage | Participants were asked a series of questions daily related to their WhatsApp usage behaviors - in particular, their message-forwarding, personal chat and group chat behaviors. | 1 week, starting from date after baseline survey completion | 
| Changes in fear with regards the COVID-19 situation across 1 week | 1 item each day on fear specifically of the COVID-19 situation (measured on a 4 point scale: min = 1, max = 4; higher scores indicating greater fear about the outbreak). | 1 week, starting from date after baseline survey completion | 
| Changes in amount of thinking about the COVID-19 situation across 1 week | 1 item each day on how much they thought about the outbreak that day (measured on a 5 point scale: min = 1, max = 5; higher scores indicating more thinking about the outbreak). | 1 week, starting from date after baseline survey completion | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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WhatsApp, Misinformation, Rumours, India, Experience Sampling