Content characteristics predict the putative authenticity of COVID-19 rumors

Abstract

Rumors regarding COVID-19 have been prevalent on the Internet and affect the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using 1,296 COVID-19 rumors collected from an online platform (piyao.org.cn) in China, we found measurable differences in the content characteristics between true and false rumors. We revealed that the length of a rumor's headline is negatively related to the probability of a rumor being true [odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, 95% CI (0.30, 0.44)]. In contrast, the length of a rumor's statement is positively related to this probability [OR = 1.11, 95% CI (1.09, 1.13)]. In addition, we found that a rumor is more likely to be true if it contains concrete places [OR = 20.83, 95% CI (9.60, 48.98)] and it specifies the date or time of events [OR = 22.31, 95% CI (9.63, 57.92)]. The rumor is also likely to be true when it does not evoke positive or negative emotions [OR = 0.15, 95% CI (0.08, 0.29)] and does not include a call for action [OR = 0.06, 95% CI (0.02, 0.12)]. By contrast, the presence of source cues [OR = 0.64, 95% CI (0.31, 1.28)] and visuals [OR = 1.41, 95% CI (0.53, 3.73)] is related to this probability with limited significance. Our findings provide some clues for identifying COVID-19 rumors using their content characteristics.