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COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 05 05; 6(2):e19374.JP

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Since the beginning of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, fake news and misleading information have circulated worldwide, which can profoundly affect public health communication.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated online search behavior related to the COVID-19 outbreak and the attitudes of "infodemic monikers" (ie, erroneous information that gives rise to interpretative mistakes, fake news, episodes of racism, etc) circulating in Italy.

METHODS

By using Google Trends to explore the internet search activity related to COVID-19 from January to March 2020, article titles from the most read newspapers and government websites were mined to investigate the attitudes of infodemic monikers circulating across various regions and cities in Italy. Search volume values and average peak comparison (APC) values were used to analyze the results.

RESULTS

Keywords such as "novel coronavirus," "China coronavirus," "COVID-19," "2019-nCOV," and "SARS-COV-2" were the top infodemic and scientific COVID-19 terms trending in Italy. The top five searches related to health were "face masks," "amuchina" (disinfectant), "symptoms of the novel coronavirus," "health bulletin," and "vaccines for coronavirus." The regions of Umbria and Basilicata recorded a high number of infodemic monikers (APC weighted total >140). Misinformation was widely circulated in the Campania region, and racism-related information was widespread in Umbria and Basilicata. These monikers were frequently searched (APC weighted total >100) in more than 10 major cities in Italy, including Rome.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified a growing regional and population-level interest in COVID-19 in Italy. The majority of searches were related to amuchina, face masks, health bulletins, and COVID-19 symptoms. Since a large number of infodemic monikers were observed across Italy, we recommend that health agencies use Google Trends to predict human behavior as well as to manage misinformation circulation in Italy.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Rovetta A
Mensana srls, Research and Disclosure Division, Brescia, Italy.
Bhagavathula AS
Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

MeSH

Attitude to HealthBetacoronavirusCOVID-19CommunicationCoronavirus InfectionsDeceptionDisease OutbreaksHealth CommunicationHumansInformation Seeking BehaviorInformation Storage and RetrievalInternetItalyMass MediaPandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Truth Disclosure

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

32338613

Citation

Rovetta, Alessandro, and Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula. "COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study." JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020, pp. e19374.
Rovetta A, Bhagavathula AS. COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020;6(2):e19374.
Rovetta, A., & Bhagavathula, A. S. (2020). COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), e19374. https://doi.org/10.2196/19374
Rovetta A, Bhagavathula AS. COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020 05 5;6(2):e19374. PubMed PMID: 32338613.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - COVID-19-Related Web Search Behaviors and Infodemic Attitudes in Italy: Infodemiological Study. AU - Rovetta,Alessandro, AU - Bhagavathula,Akshaya Srikanth, Y1 - 2020/05/05/ PY - 2020/04/15/received PY - 2020/04/22/accepted PY - 2020/04/22/revised PY - 2020/4/28/pubmed PY - 2020/5/10/medline PY - 2020/4/28/entrez KW - Google Trends KW - behavior KW - communication KW - digital health KW - infodemiology, infodemic monikers, Italy KW - novel coronavirus, COVID-19, Google search KW - online search KW - public health SP - e19374 EP - e19374 JF - JMIR public health and surveillance JO - JMIR Public Health Surveill VL - 6 IS - 2 N2 - BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, fake news and misleading information have circulated worldwide, which can profoundly affect public health communication. OBJECTIVE: We investigated online search behavior related to the COVID-19 outbreak and the attitudes of "infodemic monikers" (ie, erroneous information that gives rise to interpretative mistakes, fake news, episodes of racism, etc) circulating in Italy. METHODS: By using Google Trends to explore the internet search activity related to COVID-19 from January to March 2020, article titles from the most read newspapers and government websites were mined to investigate the attitudes of infodemic monikers circulating across various regions and cities in Italy. Search volume values and average peak comparison (APC) values were used to analyze the results. RESULTS: Keywords such as "novel coronavirus," "China coronavirus," "COVID-19," "2019-nCOV," and "SARS-COV-2" were the top infodemic and scientific COVID-19 terms trending in Italy. The top five searches related to health were "face masks," "amuchina" (disinfectant), "symptoms of the novel coronavirus," "health bulletin," and "vaccines for coronavirus." The regions of Umbria and Basilicata recorded a high number of infodemic monikers (APC weighted total >140). Misinformation was widely circulated in the Campania region, and racism-related information was widespread in Umbria and Basilicata. These monikers were frequently searched (APC weighted total >100) in more than 10 major cities in Italy, including Rome. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a growing regional and population-level interest in COVID-19 in Italy. The majority of searches were related to amuchina, face masks, health bulletins, and COVID-19 symptoms. Since a large number of infodemic monikers were observed across Italy, we recommend that health agencies use Google Trends to predict human behavior as well as to manage misinformation circulation in Italy. SN - 2369-2960 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32338613/COVID_19_Related_Web_Search_Behaviors_and_Infodemic_Attitudes_in_Italy:_Infodemiological_Study_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -