Misinformation in the Age of Social Media

Misinformation, defined as incorrect or misleading information, has been around since the beginning of time. However, the rise of technology and widespread use of social media has allowed misinformation to evolve and gain more traction. This study aims to examine health and political misinformation within the contexts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Utilizing samples of misinformation from the 45th president of the United States, I analyzed the levels of engagement that this misinformation received on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. I also examined how various Google search query trends changed over time in response to this misinformation. Then, I categorized the data into misleading statistics, misrepresentations of opinions as facts, or completely false content. Lastly, I looked into the physical responses that resulted from the spread of such misinformation. My findings of this case study showed that misinformation received significantly more attention than other social media posts, as evidenced by increased Google searches related to the topics and higher levels of likes and retweets on misinformative Tweets during the specified periods. Furthermore, the former president employed all three types of misinformation, with misleading statistics most prevalent in the health misinformation sample and misrepresentations of opinions as facts most prevalent in the political misinformation sample. The repercussions of this misinformation encompassed individuals ingesting unsafe products, decreased trust in the electoral process, and a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Despite the existing research in this field, there remains much more to be uncovered regarding the vast amount of misinformation circulating on the Internet.