Sharing fake news about health in the cross-platform messaging app WhatsApp during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot study

In the current scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of false information has spread through social networks. This study aimed to characterize the types of fake news in health and the factors that influence its sharing. This is a descriptive cross-sectional observational study conducted by health scholars who analyzed the messages received in the WhatsApp network and the sociodemographic characteristics of sharers in the year 2020. Results: The level of education influences the spread of false news, and family members have a higher frequency of sharing these news. As for the type of content of fake news, the fabricated content and false context stood out as the most shared ones. The characteristic of the group of researchers may have influenced the receivement of a smaller amount of fake news, since they are able to recognize and refute