Ibuprofen Narratives in Five European Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

We follow the trajectory of the unverified story about the adverse effects of using Ibuprofen for treating the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Twitter, across five European countries. Our findings suggest that the impact of misinformation2 is massive when credible sources (e.g., elected officials, mainstream media) participate in its propagation; yet, they also imply that crisis communication management has a local scope given the greater reach and impact of regional channels in the spread and countering of misinformation. These patterns reveal both the global and local dynamics involved in the spread of misinformation. However, they are based on Twitter data, which might cast doubt on their generalizability. We discuss these and other limitations of the study as well as some of their implications for future research in the closing section of this article.