A Qualitative Study On People'S Experiences Of Covid-19 Media Literacy

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has been associated with many psychological and social effects, followed by a rise of fake news and false information about the condition. This study's main aim was to deeply understand people's experiences and precise opinions about social media information on COVID-19. This qualitative study was conducted to examine the COVID-19 social media literacy using the content analysis. Participants in the study were 20 people from Hamadan Province, Iran. Data were analyzed using the MAXQDA software version 2010. Considering the results for the volume of social media literature about COVID-19, 21 subcategories and five categories were obtained. The five categories included purpose with three subcategories such as,sales for economic gain", constructedness with five subcategories such as profiteering,advertising companies", audience with one subcategory such as,all people", format with five subcategories such as, highlighting the disease consequences", and lifestyles with seven subcategories such as, drinking alcohol". Familiarity with individuals' views based on culture and context for designing and planning educational literacy programs for media skills and competence in the new media age for distinguishing between fake and credible COVID-19 media messages and critically evaluating media content for all people is essentialespecially in the new media infodemic ecosystem. The themes obtained in the study can be used for designing educational interventions and appropriate assessment tools as well as promoting health media literacy in the field.