Democracy is largely based on the idea that we as citizens can discuss matters openly with citizens aiming to be truthful.
But what happens to the democratic debate when some people spread false stories and misinformation? This was the main research question of a new study conducted at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University, which has analysed the spread and refutation of misinformation about facemasks on Twitter during the Covid-19 pandemic.
From a democratic debate perspective, the results are not encouraging, says Professor Rebecca Adler-Nissen, who is one of the five researchers behind the study:
“We tend to believe that people eager to correct misinformation will be very fact-oriented. But our study shows that this group of people typically choose to ridicule those spreading misinformation. Instead of bridging gaps or inviting people to change their minds by updating their knowledge, their response to misinformation takes the form of know-it-all remarks intended to patronise their opponent and praise themselves.”
The majority does not focus on facts
The researchers, who are affiliated with the Center for Social Data Science (SODAS) at the University of Copenhagen and the Center for Humanities Computing, Aarhus University, Denmark, have analysed 9,345 Danish-language tweets about facemasks and COVID-19 posted between February and November 2020.
Their analyses show that only around five per cent (471 tweets) focus on misinformation. Of these, around three...
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