Assessing Mechanisms Underlying the Sharing of Official and Unofficial Information during a Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Stephanie Jean Tsang¹  Yi-Ru Regina Chen¹  Xinyan Zhao² 

[1] Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China;Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA;

关键词: anger;    anxiety;    information sharing;    political orientation;    unofficial information;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph182413298

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The COVID-19 disease outbreak has seen mixed information flows comprising top-down communication from health authorities to the public and citizen-to-citizen communication. This study aimed to identify mechanisms underlying the sharing of official versus unofficial information during the outbreak. Survey findings based on a nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 856) showed that individuals’ predispositions affected their information consumption and affective experiences, leading to distinct types of information-sharing behaviors. While anger toward the U.S. government’s outbreak response was directly associated with unofficial information sharing, anxiety was directly associated with official information sharing. These findings enhance our understanding of the propagation of different kinds of pandemic information and provide implications for public education on information verification based on source authoritativeness.

【 授权许可】

Unknown