Publication: Countering Misinformation Via WhatsApp: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe
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2020-05
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Center for International Development at Harvard University
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Bowles, Jeremy, Horacio Larreguy, and Shelley Liu. “Countering Misinformation Via WhatsApp: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe.” CID Working Paper Series 2020.380, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, May 2020.
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Abstract
We examine how information from trusted social media sources can shape knowledge and behavior when misinformation and mistrust are widespread. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe, we partnered with a trusted civil society organization to randomize the timing of the dissemination of messages aimed at targeting misinformation about the COVID-19 virus to 27,000 newsletter WhatsApp subscribers. We examine how exposure to these messages affects individual beliefs about how to deal with the COVID-19 virus and preventative behavior. The results show that social media messaging from trusted sources may have substantively large effects on not only individual knowledge but also ultimately on related behavior.
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