Miscommunicating the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ran Wei is Chair Professor in the School of Communication of Hong Kong Baptist University, a retired Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of South Carolina, USA.Chapter Lead AuthorsDong Dong is Assistant Professor in the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include health communication, science and technology studies, health equity, and social justice.Guanxiong Huang is Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at City University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include health communication, media psychology, and persuasive technologies.Yi-Hui Christine Huang is a Chair Professor in the Department of Media and Communication and the Associate Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at City University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include strategic communication and risk communication.Hai Liang is Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests include computational social science, political communication, and public health.Ven-hwei Lo is Visiting Professor in the Department of Journalism at the Hong Kong Baptist University. His research expertise falls into two streams: effects of mass media and journalism studies.Sibo Wang is Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on database and data mining.

This timely book offers a sobering reflection on the disruptions that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked on our information landscape. Governments in Asia faced significant uphill battles in securing public trust in lockdowns, quarantine measures, vaccinations and treatments. Given the high level of connectivity among most Asian populations, misinformation and disinformation spread even more swiftly than the disease. Nevertheless, many Asian countries were able to mount effective and creative campaigns to allay public concerns and disseminate accurate information. The lessons learnt from this dark period will illuminate and aid societal responses to future challenges. This book performs the invaluable role of capturing those critical learning points. Professor Sun Sun Lim, Vice President, Partnerships and Engagement at the Singapore Management University, SingaporeTeam-authored Miscommunicating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia is a vital new book that examines the diffusion and impact of COVID-19 misinformation in Asia’s leading cities. Misinformation has become a global pandemic itself in the 21st century, and understanding its nature and impact is essential. Led by the distinguished scholar, Ran Wei, a team of international scholars including Ven-Hwei Lo, Yi-Hui Christine Huang, Dong Dong, Hai Liang, Guanxiong Huang, and Sibo Wang has collaborated to provide a vital new work of ground-breaking scholarship. Supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regin, China, this book is comprehensive in scope and delivers empirical findings to illuminate the types of infodemic messages that circulate on social media platforms, the factors that account for exposure to and engagement with COVID-19 misinformation, and how exposure to COVID-19 misinformation influences the public’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. This theoretically and methodologically powerful book is a must-read for all students, scholars and policymakers concerned about COVID-19 misinformation in Asia’s leading cities.Professor John V. Pavlik, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, USAThe global nature of the COVID pandemic provided a valuable opportunity for the cross-national analyses provided in this volume and the lessons they provide. Above all, we need reliable ways to connect the public to credible information, a need that transcends national system. Stephen D. Reese, Jesse H. Jones Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Texas at Austin, USA

• List of ContributorsAcknowledgments 1. Introduction2. The Emergence of COVID-19 Misinformation: Conception and Message Characteristics3. Diffusion of Misinformation: Topological Characteristics and User Vulnerability4. Exposure to Misinformation: Patterns and Predictors5. Sharing Misinformation: Facilitating the Spread6. Consequences of Exposure to Misinformation: Negative Emotions and Biased Risk Perception7. The Antivax Phenomenon: Trust and Misinformation8. The Cognitive Outcomes of Misinformation: Misbeliefs and Knowledge9. Swamped: Misinformation and Information Overload10. Fighting Back: Citizen Actions to Combat Misinformation11. Modeling the Dynamic Process and Adverse Effects of Misinformation12. An Asian Perspective on Combating Misinformation: What Have We Learned?Appendices