Effect of a social media-based counselling intervention in countering fake news on COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria
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Date
2021-09-12
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Health Promotion International
Abstract
The aim of this study was to understand the impact of counselling in countering fake news-related
COVID-19 vaccine. We conducted two separate experiments. In the first experiment, we exposed the
treatment group to fake news on COVID-19 vaccine through a WhatsApp group chat while the control
group was not. We then tested the effectiveness of such fake news on their perception. In our second
experiment, we exposed the treatment group to a social media-based counselling intervention
wherein we attempted to counter the earlier fake news on COVID-19 vaccine which they were exposed
to. We found that respondents who were exposed to fake news reported greater negative perception
about COVID-19 vaccine than their counterparts in the control group. We also we found that as a result
of the counselling intervention, the respondents in the treatment group reported more positive per ception regarding COVID-19 vaccine while their counterparts in the control group who were earlier ex posed to fake news on COVID-19 did not significantly change their perception. This study has
highlighted the importance of counselling in countering fake news within the context of health promo tion. This approach is yet to receive significant attention in literature, especially from developing
countries.