Donald Trump biggest driver of Covid-19 misinformation: Study
US President Donald Trump has been the world's biggest driver of misinformation about the Covid-19, the infectious disease caused by the coronavirus, during the pandemic, according to a study from Cornell University.
The study released on Thursday was conducted by a team from the Cornell Alliance for Science that evaluated 38 million articles published by English-language, traditional media globally between January 1 and May 26.
The articles contain information about the pandemic in countries like the United States, Britain, India, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other African and Asian nations.
The team identified 522,472 news articles that reproduced or amplified misinformation pertaining to the pandemic, or what the World Health Organization has called the "infodemic."
The articles were categorized into 11 main sub-topics, including conspiracy theories, attacks on top scientist Anthony Fauci and the idea that the virus is a bioweapon unleashed by China among others.
However, the most popular topic by far was what the study authors called "miracle cures," which appeared in 295,351 articles, more than the other 10 topics combined.
According to the study, the authors realized that comments by Trump drove major spikes in the "miracle cures" topic, led by a press briefing he held on April 24 during which he mused on the possibility of using disinfectants inside the body to cure the virus.
Trump suggested that scientists should explore whether inserting light or disinfectant into the bodies of people infected with the new coronavirus might help them clear the disease.
“Is there a way we can do something like that by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning?” he said then. “It would be interesting to check that.”
There were also similar spikes when he promoted unproven treatments like the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which the US president said, on May 18, that he had been taking and had urged others to use.
"I take a pill every day," he said then, adding that he also took zinc as a preventative measure.
However, in fact, that drug was tied to increased risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
"We conclude therefore that the president of the United States was likely the largest driver of the COVID-19 misinformation 'infodemic," the Cornell University team said.
Sarah Evanega, who led the study and is director of the Cornell Alliance for Science, said, "If people are misled by unscientific and unsubstantiated claims about the disease, they may be less likely to observe official guidance and thus risk spreading the virus."
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