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Social Media Sharing And Disinformation During The Pandemia

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Selma TÜMER
Kırgızistan-Türkiye Manas Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü
selmatumer42 @gmail.com
Doc. Dr. Niyazi AYHAN
Kırgızistan-Türkiye Manas Üniversitesi, İletişim Fakültesi
niyazi.ayhan @manas.edu.tr

Social Media Sharing And Disinformation During The

Pandemia
Abstract
Throughout history, people have needed news to be aware of the events happening
around them. There have been changes and transformations in news formats with
the developing communication technologies. But people's need for news is never
over. The most important of these changes and transformations have been with the
emergence of internet-based social media. Societies have started to meet their news
needs through social media channels. Due to the expansion of the usage area of
social media and its interactive feature. However, users frequently encounter
disinformation and information pollution in social media content.
The study focused on disinformation-content messages shared on social media in
crises such as pandemics, based on the concepts of social media and disinformation.
In this context, messages sent to the teyit.org website deciphering disinformation-
related news and messages constitute the data source of the research.
Research in the early stages of the outbreak in Turkey has been starting on March
11. The claims for protection from the epidemic that occurred in one week (11-18
March 2020) were discussed and these claims were resolved with the descriptive
analysis method.
Scientists have stated that this type of news spread on social media is inaccurate.
Scientists have suggested that such posts should not be believed. In the news
content, persuasion strategies were used with arguments such as Chinese medicine,
World Health Organization, and religious arguments. Some products that should be
consumed to be protected from the pandemic have been suggested through
messages. There has been an increase in the prices of the recommended products
and even become unavailable in the shops where these products are sold. This
situation is one of the main indicators of the damages of disinformation information.
Socıal Medıa Sharıng And Dısınformatıon Durıng The Pandemıa

Keywords: Social media, Disinformation, Pandemic, Covid-19

Pandemi Sürecinde Sosyal Medya Paylaşımı ve Yanlış Bilgiler

Özet
Toplumlar, etrafında olup biten olaylardan haberdar olmak için tarih boyunca
habere gereksinim duymuştur. Gelişen iletişim teknolojileriyle haber formatlarında
değişim ve dönüşümler yaşanmış olsa da, insanların habere olan gereksinimleri hiç
bitmemiştir. Söz konusu değişim ve dönüşümlerin en önemlisi ise internet tabanlı
sosyal medyanın ortaya çıkışıyla olmuştur. Sosyal medyanın kullanım alanının
genişlemesi ve etkileşimli olma özelliğinden dolayı, toplumlar haber
gereksinimlerini sosyal medya mecralarından karşılamaya başlamıştır. Ancak
sosyal medyanın denetimsiz olma özelliğinden dolayı; kullanıcılar, sosyal medya
içeriklerinde dezenformasyon ve bilgi kirliliği ile sıkça karşılaşmaktadır.
Çalışmada sosyal medya ve dezenformasyon kavramlarından hareket edilerek,
pandemi gibi kriz durumlarında sosyal medyada paylaşılan dezenformasyon içerikli
iletilere odaklanılmıştır. Bu kapsamda dezenformasyon içerikli haber ve iletileri
deşifre eden teyit.org sitesine ihbar amaçlı gelen iletiler araştırmanın veri kaynağını
oluşturmaktadır.
Araştırma Türkiye’de Covid-19 salgınının ilk dönemlerinde 11 Mart tarihi
başlangıç alınarak bir haftalık sürede (11-18 Mart 2020) ortaya çıkan salgından
korunmaya yönelik iddalar betimsel analiz yöntemiyle çözümlenmiştir.
Genel olarak sosyal medyada yayılım gösteren bu tür haberin de yanlışlığı bilim
adamlarınca ifade edilip, böyle paylaşımlara inanılmaması yönünde telkinde
bulunulmuştur. Çin tıbbı, Dünya Sağlık Örgütü ve dini argümanlar gibi
37
argümanlarla ikna stratejileri kullanılmıştır. İletiler aracılığıyla Pandemiden
korunmak için tüketilmesi gerekilen bazı ürünler önerilmiştir. Önerilen ürünlerin
fiyatlarında bir artış olmuş hatta bu ürünlerin satıldığı dükkânlarda bulunamaz hale
gelmiştir. Bu da durum dezenformasyonel bilginin zararlarının başlıca
göstergelerinden biridir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Sosyal medya, Dezenformasyon, Pandemi, Covid19
Introduction
In times of crisis and extraordinary people seek a way out of crisis and extraordinary
situations. In these crisis periods, people use mass media more often to overcome
the crisis most lightly and to obtain information about the crisis. During these
periods, it is observed that the public spends more time on social media to get the
fastest and most up-to-date news. The more people use social media, especially in
extraordinary situations, the more they are exposed to disinformation. In this
context, it is seen that people tend to acquire false information away from scientific
data and tend to various applications within the information about getting out of the
crisis given in social media. For this reason, in the days when the epidemic first
appeared, communication and social media studies focus on disinformation. Studies
on conventional media remained minimal in the early days of the epidemic.
The study focused on the concepts of social media and disinformation. In this
context, the website teyit.org, which deciphering the news containing disinfection
and undertaking the duty of informing the public about this news, was examined.
In this context, the first day of the outbreak cases seen in Turkey is considered as a

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starting March 11. The claims made to protect against the epidemic in 1 week (11-
18 March 2020) were taken as a data source.
In the study where these claims, which are far from scientific and correct, are tried
to be described; It has been determined that the allegations in question are generally
spread through social media. To be protected from the epidemic, it is recommended
to consume products such as grape vinegar, onion, raki, and sumac. To strengthen
these suggestions, old Chinese medicine, newspaper reports, world health
organization, and dreamlike pieces of evidence have been put forward. However,
this evidence presented was not confirmed by the said institutions and
organizations.
It had a huge demand for products recommended for the prevention of epidemics
by social media, products offered to the public to protect themselves from the
epidemic in Turkey as a result of it could not be supplied in a short time. This is
the most important situation that explains the relationality of social media and
disinformation. The public trusts the messages from such social media and opted to
buy that product.
Social Media As A News Requirement
Historically, the first news is the senate decisions that were hung on the walls of the
Roman Senate in Antiquity.1However, with the changing social and cultural
structure, there have been changes in the perspective and news needs of the news.
Known as the first newspaper in Europe, Gazetta de France was used by a doctor
named Theophraste Renaudot to inform his patients.2 Therefore, if we make an 38
assumption around the newspaper in question, it can be concluded that the news
requirement at that time was more on illness or health.
In war situations, however, there have been changes in the point of view of the
news. Apart from war news, entertainment topics have started to be included to
increase motivation.3 Therefore, the need for news is related to a social need. If we
make a general evaluation, there has been a desire to reach the news and to obtain
information since the times of human existence. However, there have been changes
in the content of the news around the need for information.
For example, in the early ages, people used the news to feel safe and learn about
the events around them4. Technological developments have contributed to the
development of mass media. With this development and transformation, there have
been some changes in the perspective of the news and the way the news is presented.
For example, while newspaper news needs were of primary importance in the 17th
century, with the integration of radio into social life in the 19th century, radio
became an important tool in meeting the news needs, and by adding an audio
element to the news format, people accessed the news audiology. One of the most
important features of this period was the use of radio as a propaganda tool. Since
1 Cereci,Sedat. “Haber Ve Toplum Arasındaki İlişkinin Toplumsal Yaşama Yansımaları”. Ç.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler
Enstitüsü Dergisi.19/3(2010), p.111
2 Tunç, Melahat,. “Gazetecilik ve Bizde ilk Gazete”. Türk Kütüphaneciliği Dergisi.6/3 (1957), p. 46.
3 Tunç, Melahat,. “Gazetecilik ve Bizde ilk Gazete”. Türk Kütüphaneciliği Dergisi.6/3 (1957), p. 46.
4 Özçağlayan, Mehmet. “Gazetelerin Gelişimi Ve Gazeteciliğin Geleceği (Yeni Teknolojiler Ve Medya

Ekonomisi Açısından Genel Bir Değerlendirme)”. Marmara İletişim Dergisi.13/13 (2008), P 133.

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the 20th century, television has brought a completely different dimension by adding
visuality to the field of news and communication. Since the end of the 20th century,
the internet has entered our lives, and its size and function in communication have
changed. Media has a feature of changing people and society by shaping human
communication.5With the emergence and spread of the internet, society has
changed. And the social effects of this change are no less than other traditional
means of communication. Because internet-based social media has gathered all
communication tools and has an interactive state with all communication tools.
England origin, a research organization We Are Social in June 2020, also in a study
published, the number of social media users in Turkey are presented in 62 million

Image 1: Social Media User (we are social 2020)6

Internet users, 74% of Turkey's population of 54 million social media users, 64%
of Turkey's population, 77 million mobile users, Turkey constitute 92% of the 39
population.

Image 2: Time Spent by Countries on Social Media7

In the image above, countries have their daily time allocation rates on social media.
It is seen that the rates differ by country. The daily usage amount of its users is not
to be underestimated.

5 McLuhan, Marshall. Fiore, Quentin and Agel,Jerome. The Medium Is The Massage. New York: Bantam
Books, 1967.p. 126
6 Social Media User Counts, last update, March 1, 2021, https://wearesocial.com/digital-2021
7 Social Media User Counts, last update, March 1, 2021, https://wearesocial.com/digital-2021

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Internet and social media have turned into an important newsgathering tool in
today's world when communication technologies have gained speed and function.
Social media, with its interactive aspect, was perceived as a free expression channel
in the first years when it started to become widespread. An environment with free
expression and interpretation has become indispensable for everyone.
Social media, which includes the user with applications mostly found on mobile
phones, also provided the user with the most convenient environment in which they
can communicate with the world they live in. The most important factor that
increases the attractiveness of communication tools is that it offers people the
opportunity to interpret and share what is happening around them, internet-based.
Social media, which collects images, sounds, and texts, has also made its users a
content producer.8 However, content that passes certain news filters in conventional
media is not available on social media. Therefore, it has caused various discussions.
This concept, which is mostly used in the field of political communication, which
is expressed as Post-truth in recent years, has also started to be used for social media
communication. This concept, which means surreal or devaluation of reality, has
been one of the most emphasized by academic researchers to explain the negative
impact social media has on the masses. This area, where the number of users reaches
billions and therefore, is almost impossible to control, can drag the public into
information pollution due to the disinformation in its contents.
Disinformation in Social Media and News
The post-truth debate has been discussed intensely in terms of the future of 40
democracy, especially since the fake news spread over the internet affected both the
Brexit referendum and the 2016 US presidential election results. Social media
platforms (especially Twitter and Facebook) have been repeatedly accused of
spreading "fake news". These concerns caused the concept of "post-truth-post truth"
to enter the Oxford English Dictionary as the new word of the year in 2016.9 This
concept, which is becoming more widespread in today's world, argues that the facts
presented as "reality" are not absolutely verified information, but are made up of
facts that are made to feel "real" to individuals.10
The argument here is that true knowledge has degenerated and the increasing
populist discourse is destroying the importance of truth. Although it is not included
in the definition, the relationship of the concept with social media is obvious. It is
the common point of all academic studies where social media plays a dominant role
in the corruption of real knowledge and the loss of importance of truth with
increasing populist discourses.11
Another criticism of social media is that it contains disinformation in social media
content. The concept of disinformation was first used in 1949 for criticism of

8 Karagöz, Kezban. “Post Truth Çağında Yayıncılığın Geleceği”. TRT Akademi. 3/6 (2018). p. 680
9 Karagöz, Kezban. “Post Truth Çağında Yayıncılığın Geleceği”. TRT Akademi. 3/6 (2018). p. 678
10 Özcan, Mesut. “Öznenin Ölümü: Post-Truth Çağında Güvenlik Ve Türkiye”.İnsamer.2018, p. 1
11 Güven, Ahmet. “Hakikatin Yitimi Olarak Post-Truth: Bir Kavramsallaştırma Denemesi” İnsan ve İnsan.7/23

(2020), p. 21

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Stalinist policies. Therefore, misinformation is used as a deliberate act and act.12

Although it appeared as the concept that emerged in 1949, the most important factor
affecting the concept of disinfection was new communication technologies. As
information distribution and access to information are easy with new
communication technologies, the distribution speed and distribution area of such
news has expanded.
Another important element is related to the use of social media. Especially in times
of crisis and extraordinary, people seek a way out of these crises and extraordinary
situations. The Covid-19 outbreak has also been at an important central point in
recent days. In these crisis periods, people use mass media more often to overcome
the crisis in the lightest way and to obtain information about the crisis. In the light
of the studies carried out, it is known that especially the young generation prefers
social media instead of conventional media with their knowledge of the crisis. The
study conducted in Kyrgyzstan confirms this data.13
Another point of crisis and social media relationality is that disinformation is
encountered more in media contents in crisis and extraordinary situations.
Especially in times of crisis, fake news increases. As a result of the constraints
imposed during the pandemic process, the use of the internet and social media is
expected to increase. One of the ways to cope with the stress caused by the
pandemic and constraints is the increase in the tendency to social media and the
increase in the posts. The reality, unreal, confused news and posts have been
circulated in social media, as well as sometimes even content in traditional media.
The passive audience raised by traditional media has caused it to share on social
media without questioning the accuracy of every content it sees on the screen. This 41
situation enabled the content to be spread in an uncontrolled manner and increased
the massive impact of false information.
There are many studies in the literature on media-centered health problems. These
studies are based on the assumption that there is information pollution in the media,
especially in the field of health.14 Many messages have been shared on social media
about unconfirmed rumors, panic, and fear content about the epidemic, especially
as the world health organization treats the epidemic as a pandemic.15
All over the world as well as in Turkey, in the first days of unexpectedly confronted
the pandemic period, with conflicting reports and scientific data, even non-
scientific rhetoric has had a serious impact on society. The inaccuracy of this news
has been frequently expressed by the Scientific Committee. In order to test the
accuracy of this news, some of the users who do not have a scientific depth and
knowledge have accepted and applied them.

12 Karlova, Natascha A. and Fisher, Karen E. “Plz RT”: A Social Diffusion Model Of Misinformation And
Disinformation For Understanding Human Information Behaviour”. Information Research.18/1 (2013), p. 2-4.
13 Ayhan, Niyazi. “Covid-19 Pandemic: Tracking The Global Outbreak” Effects Of The Covid-19,edit. Aliye

Akın, Ankara: Iksad Publishing House, 2020, p. 103.

14 Wang, Yuxi. McKee, Martin. Torbica, Aleksandra and Stuckler, David “Systematic Literature Review On

The Spread Of Health-Related Misinformation On Social Media” Social Science & Medicine. (2019), p. 240
15 Ayhan, Niyazi. “Risk Toplumu Ve Tv Gazeteciliği Covid-19 Salgını Üzerine Değerlendirmeler: Kırgızistan

Ve Rusya”. Sosyal ve Beşerî Bilimlerde Teori ve Araştırmalar,edit. Erdem Sarıkaya, Ankara: Gece
Kitaplığı,2020; Chen, Emily. Lerman,Kristina and Ferrara, Emilio. “Covıd-19: The First Public Coronavirus
Twitter Dataset” via arXiv http://arxiv.org/abs/2003.07372v1(last update 1 March 2021)

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There are news verification platforms accessible to anyone concerned about

reaching the right news. The first of these is the website yalansavar.org, established
in 2009. Then, the verification platforms were established by dogrulukpayi.org. and
teyit.org are some of the new media platforms that received international approval.
Teyit.org has increased its effectiveness in recent years. It is one of the most popular
sites. In this article, some evaluations were made on the photographs of the social
media news posts delivered to the verification website during the pandemic period,
and descriptive data on social media and disinformation were made.
Methods and Finding
Based on the information presented in the literature review, especially in the early
stages of the pandemic, news and discourses about the epidemic, which are far from
scientific data, were produced intensively on social media. The study mainly
focuses on the discourse forms of unscientific news spread on social media. In this
context, the news lying and remote from reality in Turkey deciphered news sites as
a recognized authority in verifying that teyit.org. Located in the address of the first
coronavirus cases in Turkey it can be seen on starting March 11 for 1 week in
duration (11-18 March 2020) discourse about the means of protection from the
claims based on the Covid-19 outbreak aimed to present a descriptive data about
the practice. Therefore, the study was conducted between March 11-18, 2020, and
teyit.org, which is one of the news verification sites. the address is restricted to.
Therefore, descriptive analysis, which is one of the qualitative analysis methods
used to obtain descriptive data suitable for the research, was used. Among the data
collection techniques, it is aimed to reach concrete information by using the
42
document analysis technique. Document review technique covers the collection and
interpretation of visual and literary texts, provided that it is related to the subject to
be researched.16
Shares for Protection from the Epidemic
The table below contains the messages for protection from the covid-19 outbreak
that was sent to teyit.org for notification purposes between 11-18 March 2020. The
messages in question were classified in terms of objects used for the epidemic,
message sharing networks, claim to protect against the epidemic, and arguments
presented as evidence in the messages, and descriptive data were tried to be
presented around this classification.

Table 1: Shares for protection from the epidemic

Used Sharing Method Protection Word Evidence
object network description used Claim preferences that
emphasize the
importance of
the method

16Yıldırım, Ali and Şimşek, Hasan. Sosyal Bilimlerde Nitel Araştırma Yöntemleri, Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık.
2000, p.140

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vinegar whatsapp use of vinegar as a vinegar's very, very No

cleaning agent ability to kill important, do not evidence
the virus neglect it, spread
the message

onion whatsapp, putting onions in the ability of it was examined in ancient

facebook every room onion to attract the laboratory, let chinese
the virus everyone know medicine
about it, let's
benefit

raki whatsapp drinking 2 glasses the epidemic alcohol newspaper

of raki a day of those who strengthens the article,
drink raki, not immune system recommen
to be caught, dation of
the World the World
Health Health
Organization's Organizati
recommendati on
on of raki

sumac whatsapp sumac ingestion establishment disease recovery A

and protection and protection dreaming
of sumac woman
consumers
from the
epidemic

As can be seen in the table above, the majority of the news sent to teyit.org as notice
consists of messages shared via WhatsApp. Objects used to protect against the 43
epidemic were examined. In the news, it is seen that the objects used to protect
against the epidemic are vinegar, onion, raki, and sumac. However, it should be
noted that in the future, many food items such as garlic, ginger, milk, turmeric,
lemon were included in social media and traditional media as news such as a remedy
for the coronavirus. As a result of the false informative news listed above, some
products have sold out in herbalists and markets. The prices of these products have
risen for no reason. It was reflected in the news that some citizens experienced
minor ailments as a result of unconscious use of these foodstuffs.
Vinegar Miracle

The picture on the left shows a

WhatsApp message that you
can be protected from the
covid-19 outbreak with grape
vinegar

Image 3: Whatsapp message about vinegar

In the first days when the case was seen, the message in picture 1 reached most
WhatsApp users. However, the message has no scientific basis. The most obvious

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mistake in the message that contains some wrong information; that the epidemic is
not a toxic disease, but a viral disease. Despite this, the disease was expressed as a
poison and the vinegar used for cleaning and hygiene was recommended to be used
as a disinfectant.
Onion and Covid-19
One of the messages spread through Facebook and Whatsapp when the viral disease
first spread is seen in image 4.

Image 4: Circulating message about onion

The message is a message of no scientific value that a cut onion collects all viruses.
Since it lacks scientific data, it can be considered as false information that can be
considered superstition. Thanks to its antioxidant and vitamin C structure, onion is
a food product that can be beneficial to the human body when consumed, but it does
not have the power and efficiency to collect the virus. This news, which spread on
44
social media, was also stated by scientists to be inaccurate and it was suggested that
such posts should not be believed.
Sumac Miracle?
An imam hatip shot and published a video in Şırnak Cizre. In this video, she stated
that a woman reached out to her and in her dream, she conveyed the protection of
consuming sumac from the covid epidemic, so an imam hatip felt the need to shoot
a video. The images of the video in question are presented in image 5.

Image 5: A section from the video emphasizing the necessity of consuming sumac
to protect against the epidemic.
Sumac suggested in the video is a type of spice produced from the fruits of the tree
known as the sumac tree.

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An imam hatip shot and published a video in Cizre, Şırnak (image 5). In the video,
he stated that a woman had reached the imam and narrated a dream. This woman
stated that she saw the Prophet Muhammad in her dream, advised her to consume
sumac to get rid of this disease and to protect it and that she should tell everyone
about it. This video was spread visually and audibly over WhatsApp and it was not
available in sumac herbalists. As with other foodstuffs described as miracles, it has
been expressed by scientific circles that sumac has benefits, but it will not be a
stand-alone medicine.
Is Rakıi a Remedy
Until Vaccination
Is Available?
Raki is an alcoholic
beverage made by
mixing a plant
called anise with
ethyl alcohol. A
claim that those
who drink raki are
not caught in corona
has also been
reported to
teyit.org.
Image 6: Newspaper article about the claim that raki has prevented the corona
45
epidemic
A claim that those who drink raki are not caught in corona has also been reported
to teyit.org. In a newspaper clipping spread over social media platforms and
WhatsApp (image 6) and sent as a notice to teyit.org, a news text titled “Rakı
solution for coronavirus” was included. In the alleged newspaper clipping, it was
claimed that the World Health Organization recommended raki as a remedy against
the virus until it developed a vaccine against Covid-19, and drinking two glasses of
raki every day developed immunity against the virus. However, the claim has been
denied by scientific circles. The World Health Organization has not made a
statement that raki is good for Covid-19. It has been demonstrated that the content
is prepared from a website that produces visuals and tens of news clippings can be
prepared with the same picture (teyit.org).
Conclusion
Globally, countries in economic-politically under-19 field Covidien epidemic
effect, Turkey was also first seen on March 11, 2020. Such is the case all over the
world from the date, in Turkey physiological, psychological, and social effects
observed, has been the subject of research various disciplines.
Due to the physiological, psychological, and social effects of the epidemic, it has
suddenly become high on the agenda in both conventional and social media.

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It is seen that this process, which negatively affects daily life and habits, also affects
people's media usage habits. As a result of many restrictions such as curfew and
travel restrictions, people's usage of social media has increased.
There are some differences between conventional media and social media's content
production purposes. It can be assumed that the main purpose of social media
content production is to get more views, more attention, and more likes. For this
reason, disinformation information is more common in order to attract attention to
social media content as a result of the concern of watching more. This situation
makes itself felt more in extraordinary situations such as epidemics. This content,
created for the sake of gathering more viewers on social media, can reach millions
of people through social media.
In this respect, the study is more important in terms of determining what the
contents created by the reflex of watching and sharing the contents are made up. In
order to detect this, the teyit.org website deciphering false and false news
constitutes the database of the research. However, it should be noted that the study
was limited to the news that the website in question deciphered the fake news
published for protection from the covid-19 outbreak between 11-18 March 2020.
Most of the news on the teyit.org site consists of messages transmitted to the public
via WhatsApp in the form of notification to the teyit.org website. In disinformation
news, it is seen that the products that should be consumed to protect against the
epidemic are grape vinegar, onion, raki, and sumac.
In the first days of the case, grape vinegar was proposed by introducing it as a
hygienic product to protect against the epidemic. Another product is dried onion. 46
Discourse has been produced as another way of protection from the covid-19 virus
for the product referring to Chinese medicine. Another product that is desired to be
consumed for protection from the epidemic is a product called sumac. The
persuasion material for consuming this product is a dream woven with religious
motifs. the video that Turkey should be emphasized that the most sound in this
video. Another product is a type of alcoholic drink called raki. It is emphasized that
those who consume Rakı are not caught in an epidemic.
When examined in general, the wrongness of this kind of news spread on social
media was expressed by scientists and it was suggested that such posts should not
be believed. Another prime data was the arguments they used to persuade people.
For example, Chinese medicine, the World Health Organization, and religious
arguments are among the main persuasive arguments that contribute to the product
being consumed or to convince social media content.
Chinese medicine, the World Health Organization, and religious arguments, which
can be seen as evidence that enhances the credibility of the message, have also had
a social response. That is to say, although it is explained by various scientific circles
that such news is false news, there has been an increase in the prices of the proposed
products, and even they have become unavailable in the shops where these products
are sold.

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 Socıal Medıa Sharıng And Dısınformatıon Durıng The Pandemıa

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