Is this pofma? Analysing public opinion and misinformation in a COVID-19 Telegram group chat

TL;DR

This study analyzes a large Singaporean COVID-19 Telegram group to understand public opinion dynamics, sentiment, and misinformation, revealing engagement patterns and skepticism towards government-identified false information.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of public opinion, sentiment, and misinformation in a large COVID-19 Telegram group, highlighting engagement trends and skepticism towards misinformation.

Findings

Engagement peaked during alert level increases

Government misinformation was rare and skeptically received

Public sentiment and participation fluctuated over time

Abstract

We analyse a Singapore-based COVID-19 Telegram group with more than 10,000 participants. First, we study the group's opinion over time, focusing on four dimensions: participation, sentiment, topics, and psychological features. We find that engagement peaked when the Ministry of Health raised the disease alert level, but this engagement was not sustained. Second, we search for government-identified misinformation in the group. We find that government-identified misinformation is rare, and that messages discussing these pieces of misinformation express skepticism.