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People with low number literacy are more likely to believe Covid-19 misinformation, according to a survey conducted in five countries.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge said the findings suggested that improving people’s analytical skills could help turn the tide of an epidemic of “fake news” surrounding the health crisis.
This year, five national surveys, reflecting national age and gender quotas, were conducted to assess susceptibility to coronavirus-related misinformation and its influence on key health-related behaviors.
The study found that the most consistent predictor of lower susceptibility to misinformation about Covid-19 was number literacy – the ability to digest and apply quantitative information broadly.
People from Ireland, Spain, Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom participated in the study. Their numerical literacy levels were calculated on the basis of three different numeracy tests.
Participants were presented with nine statements about Covid-19, some false (for example, 5G networks can make us more susceptible to coronavirus) and others true (for example, people with diabetes are at increased risk of complications from the coronavirus) .
Participants were also asked about their perception of Covid-19 risk, the extent to which they met public health guidelines, and their likelihood of being vaccinated if a vaccine were available.
Overall, increased susceptibility to fake news was associated with lower self-reported adherence to public health guidelines for Covid-19, as well as people’s willingness to get vaccinated against the virus and recommend the vaccine to vulnerable family and friends. .
Some scientists think that susceptibility to misinformation is related to political opinions, while others think it is related to reasoning ability, explained study author Dr. Sander van der Linden.
“My opinion is that both are relevant. And I was surprised to see that arithmetic plays such an important role here … it was one of the most important predictors, “he said. “I like that finding in a way because it gives me hope that there is a solution.”
Another distinguishing factor linked to the belief in Covid-19 “fake news” was age, the researchers found. Being older was associated with a lower susceptibility to misinformation everywhere (except Mexico), which is inconsistent with previous research that generally found the opposite pattern, at least in the context of elections.
“It could be that older people are less susceptible [to misinformation] but they still share it more, ”Linden said, adding that they may also be less inclined to support Covid-19 misinformation because there is an incentive to be accurate, as the elderly are the biggest victims of the disease.
The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, also found that people who were most receptive to misinformation viewed themselves as minorities and appeared resistant to voices of authority such as scientists and politicians.
Political conservatism was also linked to slightly higher susceptibility to misinformation, the researchers found, but surprisingly, this link was not as strong in the US and UK as it was elsewhere.
Dr. Emma O’Dwyer, a senior lecturer at Kingston University who was not involved in the study, wondered why the researchers had chosen these five countries to conduct the survey.
“There are differences between countries,” he said. “This document does not … provide a country-level explanation of why these relationships are different.”
The paper also doesn’t pay as much attention to how or why misinformation takes hold in the first place, said Dominic Abrams, a professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, who was not involved in the research.
“Beyond the susceptibility of people, there is the question of how and why some misleading sources can achieve an air of legitimacy.”
