Misinformation Narratives in The Covid-19 "Infodemic"

Abstract

Public health crises rarely unfold as purely biomedical events. They are also information crises in which risk signals compete with rumours, conspiracies, and “miracle cures” (Cinelli et al., 2020). During COVID‑19, Twitter functioned as both an early warning system and a megaphone for misinformation: highly emotive frames travelled faster than measured guidance (Batzdorfer et al., 2022) This dissertation compares two emblematic narratives that circulated on the platform: (a) the claim that 5G mobile networks caused or aggravated COVID‑19; and (b) promotion of “Miracle Mineral Solution” (MMS)—chlorine dioxide—as a prevention or cure. The study proceeds from Entman’s framing model—define the problem, diagnose causes, make moral judgements, and suggest remedies (Entman, 1993). Using the coded workbook derived from the Kaggle corpus, I describe the distribution of stance and frames, then read these patterns against reputable evidence on 5G safety and chlorine dioxide toxicity as well as state of the art infodemiology. The result is a comparative narrative map that clarifies not only what misinformation claimed, but how those claims were made persuasive.