JMIR infodemiology最新文献

{"title":"Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in Louisiana Through Social Media Listening and Community Feedback: Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Angie Viviana Sanchez, Sadie Smith, Sahithya Sakhamuri, Julia Ardoin, Henry Chu","doi":"10.2196/76827","DOIUrl":"10.2196/76827","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The rise of social media has significantly impacted public health programs, with platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and, more recently, TikTok being used to promote health information, raise awareness about disease outbreaks, and support disease prevention programs. However, the diverse and often unverified nature of the content on social media can make it challenging to discern accurate information, contributing to user uncertainty, which may in turn contribute to low vaccination rates in some regions. This is especially true in Louisiana as its COVID-19 vaccination rates were among the lowest in the country in 2022. Therefore, understanding public sentiment on social media and developing targeted campaigns to counter unverified information is essential for advancing public health campaigns.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The goal was to gain insights into the underlying factors that contribute to Louisiana's low vaccination rates for routine immunizations by (1) performing social media listening to develop an infodemic management plan and (2) promoting accurate information via a social media campaign.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Social media listening was conducted using Meltwater, a media monitoring and social media listening platform, supplemented by Google Alerts and Google News to identify if vaccine-related stories or sentiments were attracting unusual attention. Additionally, a social media campaign aimed at educating Louisiana residents about disease manifestation, symptoms, vaccines available for disease prevention, and potential side effects was developed. Posts were published 2 to 3 times a week and boosted for 7 days.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From November 13, 2023, to June 11, 2024, social media listening identified at least 15 unique, noteworthy stories that signified sentiment spikes. These conversations were predominantly related to vaccine hesitancy, with users expressing opposition to vaccines or reluctance to engaging with vaccine-related information. Sentiment spikes included themes related to mistrust of vaccines and concerns about their safety and efficacy. The social media campaign received 69,600 impressions, reached 43,429 users, and received 652 reactions and likes, 62 shares, and 105 comments. Most of the audience was female, with higher engagement from older users on Facebook and younger users on Instagram. Finally, posts related to hepatitis B, rotavirus, and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines received the most attention.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Social media has become a key tool for digital health, helping to implement disease prevention programs and promoting advances in medicine. However, unverified information remains a major reason for the aversion to vaccination despite the dissemination of information from reputable public health organizations, health professionals, hospitals, and medical centers. To address","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e76827"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148589/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147846966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Online Discussions of Men's Mental Health on Reddit and YouTube: Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Infodemiological Study.","authors":"Anurag Shekhar, Musawenkosi Donia Saurombe","doi":"10.2196/81315","DOIUrl":"10.2196/81315","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Male mental health remains a major global concern, with men underrepresented in mental health care and overrepresented in suicide statistics. Masculine norms that link emotional restraint with strength can discourage help-seeking and vulnerability. Anonymous digital spaces such as Reddit (Reddit Inc) and YouTube (Google LLC) have become informal support environments where men share experiences and emotions outside traditional constraints. Understanding these interactions offers insight into masculine identity and help-seeking behavior.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examines how men discuss and negotiate mental health within anonymous online communities. It explores whether these spaces support emotional openness, peer validation, and challenges to hegemonic masculinity norms. It triangulates digital discourse with survey and interview data to assess how these patterns align with men's lived experiences and perceived barriers to support.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional, exploratory mixed methods study analyzed publicly available online discourse from Reddit (n=740 posts) and YouTube (n=6287 comments). The qualitative component included 23 adult men (aged 18-55 years, predominantly Asian and employed) recruited via LinkedIn (Microsoft) who completed an anonymous online survey. Of these, 9 volunteered for follow-up semistructured interviews. Data underwent computational text mining using the Natural Language Toolkit and National Research Council Lexicon for word frequency and emotion analysis, followed by Braun and Clarke's 6-phase reflexive thematic analysis. Online discourse patterns were then compared with survey and interview data. Theoretical frameworks included hegemonic masculinity, toxic positivity, and peer-support theory.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four themes emerged across the datasets: (1) normalizing emotional expression, (2) mutual validation and peer support, (3) coping through humor and irony, and (4) pushback against toxic positivity and societal norms. Emotion analysis showed prominent expressions of sadness, fear, trust, and anger across the Reddit and YouTube corpus. Survey data showed that 20 of 23 (87%) respondents reported having no safe offline space to discuss mental health. Interview participants (n=9) largely confirmed digital discourse themes, though some divergence emerged regarding whether humor functioned as deflection or connection.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study combines large-scale analysis of online discourse with qualitative triangulation across Reddit, YouTube, surveys, and interviews. Theoretically, it extends inclusive masculinity theory into anonymous online contexts, showing how digital platforms enable men to negotiate emotional expression outside traditional masculine constraints. It introduces the concept of \"digitally mediated sanctuaries\" to describe online spaces where men practice vulnerability and mutual support ","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e81315"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13187704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147847030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Quality, Reliability, and Dissemination of In Vitro Fertilization-Related Videos on Chinese Social Media: Cross-Sectional Analysis of 300 Short Videos.","authors":"Xueyan Bai, Feng Guo, Dapeng Chu","doi":"10.2196/95354","DOIUrl":"10.2196/95354","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e95354"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102283/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147791216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parents' Multiperspective Views and Misinformation About COVID-19 Mitigation Measures During Tennessee School Board Meetings: Qualitative Content Analysis Using YouTube.","authors":"Olufunto A Olusanya, Brianna M White, Brenda Amuchi, Chad Melton, Arash Shaban-Nejad","doi":"10.2196/75691","DOIUrl":"10.2196/75691","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In fall 2021, Tennessee school districts faced heightened debates over COVID-19 mitigation amid rising cases, limited vaccination availability, and widespread misinformation. School board meetings (SBMs) served as pivotal decision-making forums influencing district policies. This study investigated perceptions and misinformation regarding the COVID-19 mask mandate at SBMs held within 6 of Tennessee's largest school districts. With widespread debate over pandemic measures, including mask use in schools, understanding community sentiments is crucial for guiding public health policies.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the viewpoints of parents or caregivers and teachers regarding COVID-19 safety protocols, particularly the mask mandate, and to identify the misinformation circulating within SBMs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants' commentaries were extracted from 6 SBM recordings that were publicly uploaded to YouTube from August through September 2021. The data were examined qualitatively to capture themes related to concerns, support, and misinformation. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using transcripts generated via Microsoft Azure speech-to-text and manually verified.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Many parents or caregivers gave personal accounts of how the pandemic had impacted them, their children, and their communities, describing significant comorbidities, adverse psychosocial impacts, mental health disorders, learning difficulties, and worsening socioeconomic and educational disparities. Six thematic domains emerged: (1) perceived effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, teachers, and parents or caregivers, including psychosocial distress, learning disruptions, and burnout; (2) perceived effects of mask mandates on children, particularly concerns regarding physical health and psychosocial well-being; (3) perceived government overreach and legal objections to COVID-19 mitigation mandates; (4) tensions between personal liberty, religious beliefs, and collective responsibility in masking decisions; (5) circulation of misinformation and conflicting guidance regarding mask safety and effectiveness; and (6) institutional strain, social tensions, and hostility directed toward school officials alongside educator burnout.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Perspectives on COVID-19 mitigation varied widely across meeting participants, highlighting the need for health officials and policymakers to engage in proactive health promotion strategies. Strengthening public health communication, misinformation mitigation, and institutional support for teachers will be essential to ensuring safe and effective learning environments during future public health crises.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e75691"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13094800/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147730796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Medical Disinformation Safeguards in Consumer-Facing Large Language Model Platforms.","authors":"Natansh D Modi, Cyril A Alex, Abdulhalim A Awaty, Bradley D Menz, Stephen Bacchi, Kacper T Gradon, Jessica M Logan, Andrew Rowland, Lisa Kalisch Ellett, Ross A McKinnon, Michael D Wiese, Michael J Sorich, Ashley M Hopkins","doi":"10.2196/89831","DOIUrl":"10.2196/89831","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Unlabelled: </strong>This cross-sectional evaluation of six consumer-facing large language model platforms found significant heterogeneity in safeguard performance against the generation of health disinformation, with Claude and ChatGPT demonstrating complete resistance across all prompt types, while Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, and Gemini exhibited substantial vulnerabilities.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e89831"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13094790/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147730857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Portrayals of Depression on TikTok: Content Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy, Creator Type, and Stylistic Features.","authors":"Elena Rainer, Amber van der Wal, Ine Beyens","doi":"10.2196/85323","DOIUrl":"10.2196/85323","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Youths are increasingly turning to TikTok for mental health information, making the platform an important space where young people encounter portrayals of mental illness. While such visibility can raise awareness, reduce stigma, and make young people feel more connected and understood in their experiences, concerns have been raised about the diagnostic accuracy of this content, which is often produced by nonprofessionals and presented using emotionally appealing stylistic features. Although prior research has examined mental health content on TikTok broadly, little is known about how depression-related symptoms are portrayed by creators on the platform.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;Given depression's rising prevalence among youth and its prominent presence on TikTok, this study examined (1) the diagnostic accuracy of TikTok videos about depression, (2) differences in diagnostic accuracy and stylistic features by creator type (medical professionals vs nonprofessionals), and (3) how diagnostic accuracy, stylistic features (personal experiences, emotional appeals, and background music), and creator type relate to user engagement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A quantitative content analysis was conducted of 210 English-language TikTok videos retrieved using symptom-focused search terms (eg, \"depression symptoms\"). Videos were coded for diagnostic accuracy using a standardized coding scheme based on the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision diagnostic criteria for depressive episodes. In addition, videos were coded for creator type, presentation style, and the presence of emotionally appealing stylistic features. Engagement was operationalized as the sum of a video's likes, comments, saves, and shares. Intercoder reliability was assessed using Krippendorff α, percent agreement, and Gwet AC1 (agreement coefficient 1). Analyses included Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square tests, and hierarchical regression.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Diagnostic accuracy was low overall (mean score 1.21, SD 1.04, on a 0-4 scale) and did not differ significantly between medical professionals and nonprofessionals (median 1.40 [IQR 1-2] vs 1.11 [IQR 0-2]; P=.06). Hierarchical regression analysis showed that diagnostic accuracy did not predict engagement (B=-0.10; P=.19). In contrast, engagement was higher for videos containing personal experiences (B=0.41; P=.02), emotional appeals (B=0.73; P=.001), and background music (B=0.54; P=.01). Across regression models, direct-to-camera formats (Bs -0.49 to -0.69; .003≤P≤.04) and text-centered videos (Bs -0.56 to -0.64; .002≤P&lt;.01) were associated with lower engagement.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Depression-related content on TikTok is characterized by limited diagnostic completeness, regardless of creator type. Engagement appears to be driven primarily by stylistic features rather than diagnostic accuracy. These patterns raise concerns about concept creep-the gra","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e85323"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13075627/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147679232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating Public Sentiment on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared With Other Mental Health Disorders From Posts on X (Formerly Known as Twitter): Longitudinal Analysis.","authors":"Vitor Tiosso Batistetti, Facundo G Sanchez, Andrea Varaona, Francisco Lara-Abelenda, Mariana Pinto da Costa, Juan Pablo Chart-Pascual, Alberto Rodriguez-Quiroga, Javier Quintero, Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon","doi":"10.2196/74440","DOIUrl":"10.2196/74440","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Neurodevelopmental disorders, especially attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have seen a marked rise in public attention, yet research on public opinion remains limited. Social media analysis offers real-time, unfiltered insights into public perceptions, enabling empirical examination of public attitudes and opinions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;This study aimed to assess the evolution of public opinion on ADHD and ASD between 2009 and 2023 by analyzing posts from X (formerly known as Twitter; X Corp), comparing perceptions across English and Spanish languages and against other mental health conditions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Posts mentioning keywords related to ADHD and ASD and control conditions (eg, depression, anxiety, insomnia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, suicide, and substance use disorders) were collected from X between 2009 and 2023. The dataset included posts in both English and Spanish. Machine learning algorithms were then applied to classify post content into predefined categories, including volume of posts, engagement, personal experiences, trivialization, perceived causes, and perceived treatability. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to assess for differences by language. Descriptive statistics were presented using tables and graphical representations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;A total of 852,990 posts were analyzed, including 511,510 (59.97%) in English and 341,480 (40.03%) in Spanish. Overall, post volume on mental health conditions increased across the study period. In English, posts about ADHD (97,084/511,510, 18.98%) and ASD (74,619/511,510, 14.59%) were among the most frequent, while of the 341,480 Spanish posts, there were 49,475 (14.49%) ASD posts, significantly outnumbering ADHD posts (n=18,223, 5.34%; chi-square test P&lt;.001). Engagement analysis indicated a notable increase in likes and reposts per post over time, particularly after 2019, with ADHD-related posts in English experiencing peak engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, ASD posts had comparatively lower engagement across languages. Posts sharing personal experiences were more polarized in Spanish, with higher proportions of negative and positive experiences compared with English posts. Trivialization of mental illnesses was less common in Spanish posts than in English posts, particularly for ADHD (17,053/18,223, 93.59%; chi-square test P&lt;.001) and ASD (41,933/49,475, 84.73%; chi-square test P&lt;.001). User-perceived causes included multifactorial factors, biological or genetic factors, substance use, psychological susceptibility, acute psychosocial stressors, and COVID-19. Perceived treatability varied by language but consistently included high perceived incurability, limited improvement despite professional help, and low perceived self-manageability except for anxiety.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Analysis of social media discourse ","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e74440"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13107104/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147647690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Information Void in Asymptomatic Chronic Disease: A Digital Health Framework for Understanding Social Media Health Information Seeking in Young Adults.","authors":"Victoria Sze Min Ekstrom","doi":"10.2196/86489","DOIUrl":"10.2196/86489","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Unlabelled: </strong>Nearly 1 in 4 young adults has a chronic condition, yet many feel well despite their diagnosis. Asymptomatic conditions such as prediabetes and hypertension create a unique vulnerability to digital health misinformation, particularly on platforms where inaccurate content is prevalent. Conventional clinical responses, which often just warn patients about online misinformation, fail to address the underlying drivers of this behavior. This viewpoint proposes a novel disease characteristic-based vulnerability framework to understand this challenge, grounded in established behavioral science theories such as the capability, opportunity, and motivation-behavior model; temporal discounting; and the concept of information voids in infodemiology. We identify a critical \"information void\" for asymptomatic conditions managed primarily through lifestyle modification. This void, created by the absence of symptomatic feedback combined with delayed clinical biomarker feedback, compels patients to seek information online. Instead of viewing this information seeking as a problematic deviation, we reframe it as a \"digital phenotype\" indicating a patient's readiness for behavior change. Through case studies illustrating how this framework applies to specific conditions (prediabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and untreated hypertension), we demonstrate its practical utility for clinicians, health systems, and policymakers. Evidence supports a multipronged approach: integrating digital health literacy into clinical encounters, providing curated evidence-based resources, and pursuing strategic institutional engagement in digital spaces. While acknowledging the framework's deliberate simplification and the need for culturally sensitive adaptation across diverse health care settings, this viewpoint offers a generalizable strategy for engaging with patients' information needs, helping transform a public health challenge into an opportunity for empowerment.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e86489"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13055946/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147635221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding Social Support and Opinion Leaders in a Tuberculosis-Related Online Community in China: Content and Network Analyses.","authors":"Xiaojun Fan, Jueman Zhang, Xiuli Wang","doi":"10.2196/79140","DOIUrl":"10.2196/79140","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. Yet, despite the growing role of online health communities (OHCs) as key sources of social support, research on TB-related online communities remains scarce. Network analysis has been increasingly used to study OHCs and identify opinion leaders (OLs), offering a valuable approach to advancing knowledge about TB-related online communities.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examined the types of social support and the influence of OLs in a prominent TB-related online forum in China, with a particular focus on its curated subforum that served as a centralized space for user interaction. The subforum consisted of posts recommended by the forum's administrator and the corresponding user replies they generated.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The data consisted of all 438 administrator-recommended posts and the 150,570 associated user replies over 18 years, from the forum's launch in 2004 to 2021. The study used content analysis to examine the types of social support present in administrator-recommended posts, which are commonly considered high-quality. It then applied social network analysis to these posts and their associated user replies to identify OLs by using a Borda ranking method based on centrality measures and user tenure. Finally, semantic network analysis was used to explore topic clusters within each OL's posts and their associated user replies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The content analysis showed a high prevalence of informational and emotional support in the administrator-recommended posts. Of the 438 posts, 296 (67.5%) contained social support, with 150 containing informational support and 136 containing emotional support. Social support varied by post theme and whether the intent was to provide or seek it. Among disease knowledge posts, 74 out of 75 provided informational support. Emotional support was most frequently provided in nontreatment sharing posts (28/113) and most frequently sought in treatment experience posts (47/129). The social network analysis identified 10 OLs. The first was a former patient with TB, and the second was a pulmonary TB doctor. Together, they contributed 30.4% (133/438) of all the posts. Across the semantic network analyses of each OL's posts and their associated user replies, informational support was more prominent than emotional support.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings suggest that the examined TB-related online forum served as an important source of social support for people affected by TB in China, fostering an environment for both informational and emotional support. OLs played an important role by contributing posts and establishing a central position through reply interactions with users.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e79140"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13080297/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147582897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analyzing Misinformation and Disinformation: Understanding Swiss COVID-19 Narratives Through Natural Language Processing Analysis.","authors":"Federico Germani, Giovanni Spitale, Franc Fritschi, Sonja Merten, Nikola Biller-Andorno","doi":"10.2196/76441","DOIUrl":"10.2196/76441","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges posed by the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation, exacerbating societal polarization and institutional distrust. Understanding how misinformation and disinformation is understood and framed in public discourse is essential to developing strategies for building societal resilience and promoting informed decision-making during crises.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study explores the use of the terms misinformation and disinformation across Swiss public discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining their framing within newspaper articles and social media interactions. The findings aim to inform policymakers and journalists or communicators on mitigating the societal impact of misinformation and disinformation through the promotion of a common understanding of the terms misinformation and disinformation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed 2 datasets using a natural language processing pipeline, including lemmatization, co-occurrence analysis, and semantic network mapping: media articles retrieved via Factiva and social media posts collected via CrowdTangle.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The framing of misinformation and disinformation varied significantly across the datasets. News media highlighted its role in shaping public sentiment, often discussing the tension between journalistic integrity and the amplification of falsehoods. Social media exhibited polarized narratives, with discussions centered on conspiracy theories, distrust in institutions, and grassroots mobilization.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Diverging narratives on the very concepts of misinformation and disinformation across public discourse reflect broader societal tensions. Robust journalistic integrity in the media and resilience strategies against misinformation and disinformation involving empowering publics through information literacy approaches are critical to bridging divides and reducing polarization.</p>","PeriodicalId":73554,"journal":{"name":"JMIR infodemiology","volume":"6 ","pages":"e76441"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13035030/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147582801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}