Iran Press/ America: According to the study’s abstract, media mentions of Trump within the context of COVID-19 misinformation made up by far the largest share of the infodemic. Specifically, Trump mentions made up 37.9% of what the researchers referred to as a misinformation conversation.
The study, which was released Thursday and only reviewed articles from English-language media, outlines 11 topics of misinformation which include conspiracy theories like the one suggesting that the pandemic was manufactured by Democrats during the same time as Trump’s impeachment trial in January, as well as miracle cures.
In fact, the researchers found that the misinformation topic "miracle cures" made up a disproportionately large amount of conversation compared to other misinformation sub-topics.
Trump was also censored by Twitter in July after retweeting a video of Stella Immanuel, a Texas-registered physician, claiming that hydroxychloroquine is a cure for COVID-19.
During an April 23 White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, Trump also floated the idea that the injection of disinfectant chemicals could potentially treat COVID-19.
Throughout the pandemic, Trump has also frequently appeared in public without a mask, despite the CDC’s mask-wearing recommendations.
"Misinformation about COVID-19 is a serious threat to global public health. If people are misled by unsubstantiated claims about the nature and treatment of the disease, they are less likely to observe official health advice and may thus contribute to the spread of the pandemic and pose a danger to themselves and others," the Cornell researchers concluded.
"Health protection strategies such as hygiene, sanitation, social distancing, mask-wearing, lockdowns, and other measures will be less effective if distrust of public health authorities becomes sufficiently widespread to substantially affect public behavior."
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