Content tracing: examining fact-checking via a WhatsApp group during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study is based on a content analysis of 238 forwarded messages sent to a public fact-checking group on WhatsApp in Singapore during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand what types of information people would submit for fact-checking, allowing insights into possible motivations behind the use of fact-checking services. Focusing on content characteristics, we examined the range of topics, valence, and facticity of the messages forwarded to the WhatsApp group to be fact-checked. The most common topic was public policy and action; most of the messages focused on negative aspects; and nearly half of the messages were either partly or entirely inaccurate. Comparing the distribution of messages across a six-month period, we found that content characteristics varied over time. As the situation worsened in Singapore, with number of cases increasing and more regulations implemented by the government, the messages shared to be authenticated focused more on public policy, became more negative, and contained more inaccuracies. These findings indicate that the types of information people seek to authenticate are those that have utility; are important and consequential; are likely to inform their actions and decisions; and can aid them in sense-making.