introduction
internet and social media are undoubtedly one of the key sources of information on covid-19 .it has been a subject of extensive research since the pandemic unfolded that covered areas such as misinformation , infodemic , sentiment , trends and other. nonetheless,questions about type of content shared between users most frequently and whether it is published and shared responsibly remain open. the objective of this study was to take a broader look at news sharing behaviors and categorize covid-19 related subjects most frequently shared by social media users. this study continues on our previous research that found information on social media about covid-19 to be usually accurate (80% of all) but account for less shares (64%) which meant that inaccurate information spread faster than accurate . the results raised a general question about what type of information is shared most often and this study is the attempt to answer it.
methods
we have used the buzzsumo analytic tool which provides data on content published and shared on the most popular social media platforms (facebook, twitter, reddit, pinterest). it allows users to identify content that received the most shares, links and comments. buzzsumo has been used in numerous original research papers published by medical and public health journals
conclusions
the results show that social media users are most likely to share objective, reliable and evidence-based information on covid-19. this may seem in odds at first with many other studies suggesting that misinformation is a serious issue, however our study focuses on what type of information people share with their friends through social media. it should not come as a surprise that they are willing to share reliable information and suggests that there is a need to provide people with reliable and evidence-based information about covid-19 because they are willing to share it. this is particularly relevant during pan demics. as social media already have billions of users that interact with each other, it is vital to effectively use this potential. viral, humorous video content may serve this purpose
