Dissemination of Mask Effectiveness Misinformation Using TikTok as a Medium

Juxtaposing the immense popularity of TikTok as a social media platform with its ability to propagate videos instantaneously, exposure to misleading information becomes an urgent domain of investigation. Although spreading misinformation may not be the intent of a social media app like TikTok, it is often an unintentional consequence of such an open access platform. Adolescent users of TikTok, who make up more than 60% of the active user base, are at substantial risk of misinformation [1]. As of July 20, 2020, three hashtags related to COVID-19 had reached almost 131 billion views collectively [2].

Source: Journal of Adolescent Health - April 1, 2021 Category: Child Development Authors: Nicholas M. Baumel, John K. Spatharakis, Steven T. Karitsiotis, Evangelos I. Sellas Tags: Letter to the editor Source Type: research