BELIEVABILITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: A STUDY OF ALLEGED FORCEFUL INJECTION OF MONKEY POX VIRUS IN SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

This study investigated the believability of alarmist social media posts among civil servants in Anambra State with particular reference to the Nigerian Army’s "deadly vaccine" episode of October 11, 2017, that caused significant panic in Anambra State. Situated within the framework of Source Credibility Theory, the study adopted the survey research design. The population of the study was civil servants working in the State Secretariat, Awka, from where a sample of 341 was selected. The data collection instrument was questionnaire comprising 21 close ended items. Findings from the study showed among others that: most civil servants in Anambra State were exposed to October 11, 2017, social media posts on the alleged forceful injection of monkeypox virus in school children and that the social media platform; WhatsApp was the primary source of this exposure; most civil servants believed the posts, reacted mainly by bringing their wards back from school and by alerting others of the perceived danger. The study also found that gender, age, education, and length of civil service experience influenced believability and response to the October 11, 2017 social media posts on the alleged forceful injection of monkeypox virus in schoolchildren among civil servants in Anambra State. The study concluded among others that: social media had become essential channel of communication with widespread appeal, and credibility and they exert considerable influence on public opinion formation. It was, among others, recommended that there should be a persistent campaign to educate the people on the risk of indiscriminate reliance on social media for critical information to avert levels of misinformation as experienced in the so-called army "deadly vaccine" episode in Anambra State.