Assessing the COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation among university students in Morocco

Authors

  • Raymond Klevor Neurology Department, Mohammed VI University Medical Center, Marrakesh, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1346-1490
  • Mohamed Chraa Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1546-7135
  • Khaled Ait Taleb Department of Neuroscience and biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Marrakesh, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9144-4894
  • Hajar Taouzer Hassan II University, Department of Education, Casablanca, Morocco https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9144-4894
  • Francois Ibrahim Camara Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco
  • Najib Kissani Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS16320222050

Keywords:

Covid-19, misinformation, social media, university students, Morocco

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the implication of university students in Covid-19-related misinformation dissemination in Morocco using an online questionnaire sent out to various faculties and online student groups around the country. A total of 295 university students responded to the questionnaire. The majority of respondents 269/295 (91.2%) claimed to have come across misinformation during the pandemic. The main source of misinformation was online news outlets (77.2%). The most frequent subjects of misinformation had to do with confinement and curfews (24.2%), the politics around the pandemic (17.2%) and the Covid-19 vaccine (16.6%). Some 36.6% of respondents reported having transmitted misinformation at least once. Overall, the difference between medical and non-medical students’ implication in misinformation dissemination did not reach statistical significance (Khi-square = 6.37, p=0.095). Misinformation, in particular, among university students has potentially been an obstacle to satisfactory Covid-19 response. University students should be a focus of interventions aimed at combatting misinformation.

Author Biographies

Raymond Klevor, Neurology Department, Mohammed VI University Medical Center, Marrakesh, Morocco

Neurology Resident

Mohamed Chraa, Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco

Professor

Khaled Ait Taleb, Department of Neuroscience and biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Marrakesh, Morocco

Master's student

Hajar Taouzer, Hassan II University, Department of Education, Casablanca, Morocco

Master's student

Francois Ibrahim Camara, Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco

Neurology Resident

Najib Kissani, Neuroscience Research laboratory, Marrakesh Medical School, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco

Professor

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Published

2022-09-30

How to Cite

Klevor, R., Chraa, M., Ait Taleb, K., Taouzer, H., Camara, F. I., & Kissani, N. (2022). Assessing the COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation among university students in Morocco. Observatorio (OBS*), 16(3). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS16320222050

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Raymond Klevor, Mohamed Chraa, Khaled Ait Taleb, Hajar Taouzer, Francois Ibrahim Camara, Najib Kissani

This is an Open Acess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing and adaptation, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author and the journal.