YOUTUBE AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT UNPROVEN DRUGS FOR COVID-19: the role of the mainstream media and recommendation algorithms in promoting misinformation

YOUTUBE COMO FONTE DE INFORMAÇÃO SOBRE MEDICAMENTOS SEM EFICÁCIA COMPROVADA PARA COVID-19: o papel da imprensa tradicional e dos algoritmos de recomendação na promoção da desinformação

YOUTUBE COMO FUENTE DE INFORMACIÓN SOBRE MEDICAMENTOS NO PROBADOS PARA EL COVID-19: el papel de los principales medios de comunicación y los algoritmos de recomendación en la promoción de la desinformación

ABSTRACT

In this study, we address how YouTube videos promote misinformation about hydroxychloroquine in Brazil. We follow two research questions. RQ1: How is pro-hydroxychloroquine content propagated on YouTube? RQ2: How does YouTube’s recommendation system suggest videos about hydroxychloroquine on the platform? We use mixed methods (content analysis and social network analysis) to analyze 751 YouTube videos. We found that most pro-HCQ videos in our dataset are posted by mainstream media channels (RQ1) and that YouTube was more likely to recommend proHCQ videos than anti-HCQ videos (RQ2). Consequently, the Brazilian mainstream media and YouTube’s algorithms fueled the spread of pro-HCQ content.

Key words
Misinformation; Covid-19; YouTube; Echo Chamber; Mainstream Media