Social Impact of False Health Information and Privacy: A Comparative Study During and After COVID-19

• Project/Area Number: 23K11760
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90020:Library and information science, humanistic and social informatics-related
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: Ho Kevin.K.W. 筑波大学, ビジネスサイエンス系, 教授 (20966767)
• Project Period (FY): 2023-04-01 – 2026-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000); Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
• Keywords: Health Misinformation / Health Fake News / Privacy / COVID-19

Outline of Research at the Start

We experienced how false health information damaged our society during the COVID-19 pandemic. They polarize and increase the distrust within our society, make people question whether their privacy has been compromised, and influence people to make wrong health decisions. This project is designed to examine how false health information developed in Japan, Hong Kong, and Guam and develop a generalized solution to solve it. A comparative study among them will provide insights for researchers, policymakers, and public members to know how we can solve the problem.