Sustained Online Amplification of COVID-19 Elites in the United States

TL;DR

This study identifies and analyzes the key COVID-19 information sources on Twitter in the U.S., revealing disparities in influence among different demographic groups and discussing implications for public health communication.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive census of COVID-19 elites on Twitter in the U.S. and examines demographic and political disparities in their online amplification.

Findings

Journalists and media outlets are consistently amplified.

Epidemiologists and health officials are underrepresented among elites.

Significant racial, geographic, and political disparities exist among COVID-19 elites.

Abstract

The ongoing, fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic requires individuals to regularly seek information about best health practices, local community spreading, and public health guidelines. In the absence of a unified response to the pandemic in the United States and clear, consistent directives from federal and local officials, people have used social media to collectively crowdsource COVID-19 elites, a small set of trusted COVID-19 information sources. We take a census of COVID-19 crowdsourced elites in the United States who have received sustained attention on Twitter during the pandemic. Using a mixed methods approach with a panel of Twitter users linked to public U.S. voter registration records, we find that journalists, media outlets, and political accounts have been consistently amplified around COVID-19, while epidemiologists, public health officials, and medical professionals make up only a small portion of all COVID-19 elites on Twitter. We show that COVID-19 elites vary considerably across demographic groups, and that there are notable racial, geographic, and political similarities and disparities between various groups and the demographics of their elites. With this variation in mind, we discuss the potential for using the disproportionate online voice of crowdsourced COVID-19 elites to equitably promote timely public health information and mitigate rampant misinformation.