Exploring the role of social media within Covid-19 prevention and mis/information on Facebook: a case study of the South African level 5 lockdown.

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a global health crisis with a deep impact on the way in which we communicate and confront public health emergencies. The inundated utilization of social media has unified the world in a global pandemic experience. Social media has become an integral part of our lives particularly during the COVID-19 public health emergency. While lockdown regulations, due to COVID-19 has limited human and physical interaction, social media has been at the forefront of accessible information yet at the same time a platform for increased misinformation and myths surrounding the impact and risks of the pandemic. This study seeks to explore the role of social media discourses around COVID-19 prevention and misinformation during the first three weeks of the level 5 lockdown in South Africa. This study purposively selected 3 posts from the National Department of Health (NDoH) Facebook page between the 27th of March 2020 to the 18th of April 2020 that relate to COVID-19 prevention messaging and the way the NDoH has addressed the circulation of misinformation and fake news. The study uses a qualitative content analysis to analyse how the NDoH has utilized their Facebook page in disseminating COVID-19 prevention messaging, the common topics of discussion related to COVID-19 prevention and misinformation and fake news awareness and how the NDoH engaged in COVID-19 related messaging and prevention communication. The study adopts the three new categories of the uses and gratification theory (UGT); content, process, and social gratification (Stafford, Stafford and Schkade, 2004) to understand how the public engaged in COVID-19 related messaging on the National Department of Health’s Facebook page. Key findings of the study found that the NDoH, as a leading health institution in South Africa has utilized their Facebook page to introduce and encourage discussions around COVID-19 prevention messaging and misinformation and fake news awareness. The themes demonstrated the ways in which the NDoH Facebook was used to encourage discussions around the factors that influence COVID-19 prevention messaging, effects of the lockdown and COVID-19 mis/information, through the comments between the Facebook users. By reviewing the comments and the themes derived from them, it is evident that the NDoH, in initiating these discussions, has succeeded in utilizing their Facebook page to encourage discussions around COVID-19 prevention messaging and misinformation and fake news awareness. The common topics of discussion aligned with the rationale of the study that included; the influence of COVID-19 preventative apparel and physical prevention methods on prevention messaging; the influence of traditional medicine, herbal remedies and religious interventions on prevention messaging and the influence of scientific interventions and western medicine on prevention messaging which formed the theme of the factors that influence COVID-19 prevention messaging, experiences and consequences of lockdown which formed the theme effects of lockdown; as well as, fake news, general and mis/information regarding COVID-19 and conspiracy theories which formed the theme COVID-19 mis/information. Using the likes and shares of the posts and comments indicated that NDoH Facebook did encourage audience engagement of the posts regarding prevention strategies and misinformation during the level 5 lockdown in South Africa.