The Nature of the Misinformation before and during Covid 19 (case study of Slovakia)

Abstract

This article presents an outline of theoretical background followed by a presentation of our own research which aims to identify the most common misinformation in the period before the pandemic and in the period of the so-called first and second wave of Covid 19 in Slovakia. The research method was a qualitative content analysis of the most read conspiracy web portals in the period before the pandemic, and separately also during the pandemic. The result of the research is the identification of key topics that determined the character of the most watched conspiracy media in Slovakia in the two monitored periods. The article points to a negative phenomenon which, in our opinion, is "lost" in heated discussions about fears of the presence of misinformation in public space. It is a fact that during Covid 19, the time spent in the Internet environment increased radically, especially in the group of today's young people. The study expresses concern that extending the time of young people on the Internet has exacerbated new forms of pitfalls that can make a significant contribution to making the younger group an even more vulnerable group as a result of the increase in online misinformation.