In January 2020, while building a collection about Taiwan's presidential elections, Observatory researchers noticed something unusual: an online poster promoting a narrative that Taiwanese voters could become infected by a coronavirus coming out of China, and would be safer wearing a mask when voting. At a time in which there was no information about the virus, many interpreted this narrative as an attempt to keep Taiwanese citizens away from voting booths. We documented this instance of attempted voter manipulation through an information operation, and started looking for similar claims coming out of China.
Shortly after that, the disease that would later be named COVID-19 enveloped the world. By February we began building a COVID-19 Observatory, and launched our first full-scale multinational Observatory into COVID-19 narratives. We first focused on Hong Kong in March, and then expanded our research to Russia, Brazil, Nigeria and India, with the hypothesis that these four countries, all with large populations and landmasses, might experience significant viral outbreaks. Each of these countries has complex information ecosystems marked by active and often contentious social media spaces, a mix of independent and state-run or state-aligned media outlets, and politics that often generate false and misleading narratives. As COVID-19 spread throughout the world in 2020, India, Russia and Brazil for a time marked some of the fastest rates of infection, and experienced confusing and often false information claims, meant, in broad strokes, to protect the reputation of governments instead of safeguard the health of citizens.
We then expanded the research to include multinational narratives and especially interesting instances of information manipulation in a range of other countries, including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Myanmar. Throughout 2020, the Global Voices’ COVID-19 Observatory documented and annotated nearly 700 media items coming from 272 media sources in 22 languages, identified and explained 192 narratives and 118 themes, and built a extensive set of analytics tools to inform our research for Global Voices stories, to share with partners and to warn social media platforms of the potentially harmful effects of false and misleading narratives, and identify unusual trends in information manipulation.
With this work, we also gained significant insight into how to build a transnational research project focused on careful and labor-intensive reading of media ecosystems, and explication of the possible benefits and harms of specific media items through a normative analysis of each. The resulting dataset is available for public use, and forms an annotated digital collection of media items, themes, narratives, and media sources. A non-public version also includes screen captures of media items and where possible, full text, available for use for qualified researchers. We also include extensive analysis of the data, in the form of an illustrated slide deck.
Read the Narratives of COVID-19 investigation.
Visit the Civic Media Observatory main page.
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Stories about Narratives of COVID-19
Russians launch mass virtual protests using satnav application
People across Russia are logging onto a popular satnav to launch virtual protests. Within hours, the Yandex.Navigator app was showing empty squares and streets of cities in lockdown as "congested"
Fighting the COVID-19 ‘Infodemic’ in the Asia-Pacific
EngageMedia lists some of the media initiatives addressing the COVID-19 "Infodemic' across the Asia-Pacific region
Africans in China targeted by xenophobia amid fear of second-wave COVID-19 outbreak
China has seen a surge in the number of imported COVID-19 cases and the African community has become an easy target for "virus control" and xenophobic sentiments.
While industry booms, China's ‘mask diplomacy’ stumbles on quality concerns
As the desperate need for face masks and other medical products grows around the world, Chinese factories are transforming their assembly lines to meet the demand.
Nigeria’s elite ‘above the law’ as the poor struggle with COVID-19 measures
The majority of Nigeria's poor live by the day in overcrowded and squalid shanties, without running water and modern toilet facilities. They cannot and will not survive a lockdown.
The most critical lesson we've learned from the COVID-19 outbreak is the importance of free speech
As COVID-19 continues to spread, there is pressure in Hong Kong to silence discussion of the disease and punish doctors who are raising the alarm about its origins.
No coronavirus cases in Donetsk and Luhansk, say separatist authorities
As usual, much is unclear in eastern Ukraine. Can separatist officials' claims that there are no confirmed cases be believed? Have they really acquired coronavirus testing kits, and from whom?
Across Africa, COVID-19 heightens tension between faith and science
While many African governments have taken stringent measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, not all leaders agree with banning faith-based gatherings.
Combating ‘fake news’ in the time of COVID-19 in Myanmar
"Thousands of social media users made a group and a network to serve as watchdogs for fake news on social media."
COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the political leadership deficit in Nigeria
Nigeria's President Buhari is yet to speak to Nigerians about the COVID-19 pandemic. His spokespersons have even scolded legislators for daring to ask him to address the country.
China government spokesperson suggests on Twitter that COVID-19 may have originated in the United States
Chinese Communist Party-affiliated media have framed the incident as part of the US information war against China.
Does Singapore’s ‘top-down approach’ to handling COVID-19 deserve all the praise it's been getting?
"Singapore's coronavirus strategy cannot be just a top-down approach that does not account for the feelings of people on the ground."
Churches in Greece and North Macedonia refuse to modify rituals conducive to the spread of COVID-19
The ritual known as the Holy Communion or Eucharist has Orthodox Christian worshippers drinking wine by a shared spoon, while Catholics eat thin slices of bread directly from the hand of the priest.
Campaign urging Wuhan residents to show gratitude to the Communist Party leadership in fighting COVID-19 backfires
"They don’t even have the strength to properly grieve and now somebody is telling them to learn how to say thank you. This is against humanity."
How Chinese social media platforms control information on COVID-19
At the initial stage of the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, censors curbed public alerts on the threat. Later, censorship was broadened to include criticism of leaders and policies.
World Health Organization officials criticized for ‘slow response’ and ‘pro-China’ bias as COVID-19 spreads across the world
The anger directed at the World Health Organization's Director-General has gone viral and nearly 500,000 had signed up demanding his resignation.
An Italian national is the index case patient of COVID-19 disease in Nigeria
Lagos is a commercial hub in Nigeria and the likelihood of a rapid spread of COVID-19 to other parts of the country is a looming possibility.
Coronavirus-related xenophobia spreads to Central and Eastern Europe
Incidents of hostility towards Asian people reported in North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Belarus and ...social networks across the region
Is the coronavirus epidemic China's ‘Chernobyl moment'?
"It is a system that turns every natural disaster into an even greater man-made catastrophe."
Coronavirus death of whistleblower Li Wenliang sets Chinese social media on fire
The manipulation around his death became obvious. Li Wenliang became an icon as people have come to see his life and death as a reflection of their own fate.
For Taiwan, the Wuhan coronavirus is also a diplomatic battle
Taiwan is one of the most vulnerable places for the spread of the virus after the PRC.