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People are increasingly turning to online communities for entertainment, information, and social support, among other uses and gratifications. Online communities include traditional online social networks (OSNs) such as Facebook but also specialized online health communities (OHCs) where people go specifically to seek social support for various health conditions. OHCs have obvious health ramifications but the use of OSNs can also influence people's mental health and health behaviors. The use of online communities has been widely studied but in the health context their exploration has been more limited. Not only are online communities being extensively used for health purposes, but there is also increasing concern that the use of online communities can itself affect health. Therefore, there is a need to better understand how such technologies influence people's health and health behaviors. The research in this dissertation centers on examining how online community use influences health and health behaviors. There are three studies in this dissertation. The first study develops a conceptual model to explain the process whereby the characteristics of a request from an OHC user for social support is answered by a wounded healer, who is a person leveraging their own experiences with health challenges to help others. The second study investigates how algorithmic fairness, accountability, and transparency of an OSN newsfeed algorithm influence the users' attitudes and beliefs about childhood vaccines and ultimately their vaccine hesitancy. The third study examines how OSN social overload, through OSN use, can lead to psychological distress and received social support. The research contributes theoretical and practical insights to the literature on the use of online communities in the health context. / Doctor of Philosophy / People use online communities to socialize and to seek out information and help. Online social networks (OSNs) such as Facebook are large communities on which people segregate into smaller groups to discuss joint interests. Some online communities cater to specific needs, such as online health communities (OHCs), which provide platforms for people to talk about the health challenges they or their loved ones are facing. Online communities do not intentionally seek controversy, but because they welcome all perspectives, they have contributed to phenomena such as vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, social overload from the use of OSNs can have both positive and negative psychological effects on users. This dissertation examines the intersection of online communities and health. The first study explains how the interaction of the characteristics of a request for social support made by an OHC user and the characteristics of the wounded healer drive the provision of social support. The model that is developed shows the paths through which the empathy of the wounded healer and the characteristics of the request lead to motivation to provide help to those in need on an OHC. In the second study, the role of characteristics of a newsfeed algorithm, specifically fairness, accountability, and transparency (FAT), in the development of childhood vaccine hesitancy is examined. The findings show that people's perceptions of the newsfeed algorithm's FAT increase their negative attitudes toward vaccination and their perceived behavioral control over vaccination. The third study examines how different uses of OSNs can influence the relationships between social overload and psychological distress and received social support. The findings show how OSN use can be tailored to decrease negative and increase positive psychological consequences without discontinuing use.

Introduktion: Kommunikation om vaccinets effekter är av stor folkhälsovetenskaplig relevans. På det svenska onlineforumet Flashback diskuterar användare huruvida vaccin gör människor sjuka. Dagligen förekommer desinformationsspridning både medvetet och omedvetet på internet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur desinformation relaterad till hälsoinformation om vaccin diskuteras på Flashback Forum. Metod: Livsberättelser i tråden på forumet utgör den narrativa analysen och som tillsammans med en diskursanalys tolkas vad som framförs i diskussionerna mellan användare. För att gå ett steg längre i diskursanalysen, som härrör Foucaults teori om maktrelationer, har analysfrågor använts som grundar sig i vad som är det representerade problemet i diskussionerna som förs. För att fastställa vilka dilemman som framställs, vad gäller hälsoinformation och vaccin på Flashback, användes en tematisk analys. Därefter analyseras vilka antaganden som framförs, vilken orsak som ligger till grund i problemet och till sist vad som lämnas outtalat och underförstått i diskussionerna. Resultat: Det framkom fem teman i diskussionerna, vilka utgör läkemedelsindustrin, desinformationsspridning, autism/adhd, vetenskapliga studier samt hälsofarliga ämnen. Främsta resultatet handlade om outtalade rädslor vilket kan bero på låg hälsolitteracitet hos användare. Slutsats: När data analyserats och resultatet framträdde framkom en förståelse i att diskussionerna om hälsoinformation och vaccin på Flashback snarare handlade om missinformation och inte desinformationsspridning. Vilket betyder att användare omedvetet sprider information om vaccin och dess effekter som inte är evidensbaserade. / Introduction: Communication and discussion about the effect of vaccines are of great interest from the perspective of public health science. On the Swedish online forum Flashback, users discussed whether vaccines are the cause of sickness. Everyday, misinformation is spread both consciously and unconsciously online. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how misinformation, related to vaccine health information, is discussed on the Flashback forum. Method: The narrative analysis consists of life stories discussed on the forum. Together with a discourse analysis, this is the basis of the interpretation of what is presented in the discussions between users. The discourse analysis is derived from Foucault’s theory of power relations, and, to take the discourse analysis one step further, analysis questions, concerning the problem represented in the discussions, have been used. A thematic analysis was used in order to determine which dilemmas, regarding health information and vaccines on Flashback, are presented. Further, an analysis was performed regarding which assumptions were made, what the cause of the problem is and lastly, what was left unspoken and assumed in the discussions. Results: Five themes emerged in the discussions. These were the pharmaceutical industry, the spread of disinformation, autism/adhd, scientific studies and unhealthy substances. The main finding/result was about unspoken fears, which may be due to low health literacy among users. Conclusion: When the data was analyzed and the results emerged, it became apparent that the discussions about health information and vaccines on Flashback were about misinformation rather than the spread of disinformation. This means that users are unknowingly spreading information about vaccines and their effects that are not evidence-based.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of false memories and Need for Cognition (NFC). The relationship was examined using a typical misinformation paradigm where participants viewed a video clip which depicted a museum burglary and were later presented with an auditory narrative that contained misleading information about the video they previously saw. Half of the participants were exposed to warnings of misinformation. Additionally, the effect of question type (e.g., central, peripheral, and neutral) was taken into account. A main effect for NFC was found indicating that high NFC individuals had fewer false memories for the originally witnessed event than low NFC individuals. It was also found that memory for central details was better than for peripheral details. Furthermore, an interaction between warning and question type showed that when a warning was present, memory for the misleading peripheral details was stronger. Overall, the results demonstrate that there is a difference between high and low NFC individuals and the way memory is processed in the misinformation paradigm. Additionally, the results of this study reaffirm the notion that post-event information can hinder an eyewitness’s memory for an original event.

This research explores how community-centered solutions facilitate the success and ownership of the response actions to deal with a public health emergency, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. When an outbreak or a hazard impacts a group of people, there is a strong need for communication in order to be able to access to the right information that takes people to make the correct decision and thus to take a protective action to be safe. This approach, known as Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)[1], allows the co-production of knowledge needed for a group of people to remain safe. For this approach, social listening tools, such as media monitoring and community feedback collection are critical understand communities’ needs. Its analysis allows to tailor a RCCE strategy that is able to substantially reduce the threat that a public health emergency poses to human lives[2].  Communities need solutions that are adapted to their needs in order to be able to deal with any emergency, including the Covid-19 pandemic. The RCCE approach empowers communities and provides them with the tools to amplify their voices. This participatory approach allows them to co-produce knowledge and get full ownership of the solutions.  Nevertheless, in an environment with excess of information, it may not be easy to discern the truth from the false. Unverified information and rumors are frequent and social media channels facilitate their rapid dissemination without borders. ‘Infodemic’ refers to an excessive amount of information concerning a problem such that the solution is made more difficult. (WHO, 2020)[3]  Some rumors may encourage people to take wrong decisions and perform actions that exacerbate risks during an emergency. The RCCE approach helps to promote real-time exchange of information to avoid that rumors and disinformation flourish. (WHO, 2018)[4]. It also allows to identify and implement community-centered solutions to communities’ problems.  RCCE needs data to monitor and evaluate its activities and reach effectively populations in risk to encourage them to observe the health preventive measures. Lives at risk depends on the right information conveyed through the right channel at the right time. To be able to supply tailored and accurate information to those communities and engage them, evidence-based RCCE strategies are needed, respecting the socio-anthropological and cultural context of the community. This research is based on the findings from five African countries -Cabo Verde, Cameroon, the Gambia, Mozambique and Niger-, all of them seriously affected by current Covid-19 pandemic. Its conclusions help to understand the critical role that RCCE plays in health emergencies resilient recovery.   [1] World Health Organization (WHO) (‎2020)‎. Risk communication and community engagement (‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎RCCE)‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ readiness and response to the 2019 novel coronaviruses (‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎2019-‎‎nCoV)‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎: interim guidance, 26 January 2020. Geneva: WHO. [2] Risk Communication is one of the eight core functions of the International Health Regulations (2005) [3] World Health Organization (WHO) (‎2020)‎. Infodemic management: a key component of the COVID-19 global response. Weekly Epidemiological Record 95 (‎16)‎, 145 - 148. World Health Organization.  [4] World Health Organization (WHO) (2018). Communicating Risk in Public Health Emergencies - A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Cette thèse vise à mieux définir ainsi qu'à mieux évaluer les stratégies de tromperie et de manipulation de l'information. Des ressources conceptuelles, formelles et expérimentales sont combinées en vue d'analyser des cas standards de tromperie, tels que le mensonge, mais aussi non-standards, tels que les inférences trompeuses et l'omission stratégique. Les aspects définitionnels sont traités en premier. J'analyse la définition traditionnelle du mensonge en présentant des résultats empiriques en faveur de cette définition classique (dite 'définition subjective'), contre certains arguments visant à défendre une 'définition objective' par l'ajout d'une condition de fausseté. J'examine ensuite une énigme logique issue de R. Smullyan, et qui porte sur un cas limite de tromperie basé sur une règle d'inférence par défaut pour tromper un agent par omission. Je traite ensuite des aspects évaluatifs. Je pars du cadre existant pour l'évaluation du renseignement et propose une typologie des messages fondée sur les dimensions descriptives de vérité (pour leur contenu) et d'honnêteté (pour leur source). Je présente ensuite une procédure numérique pour l'évaluation des messages basée sur les dimensions évaluatives de crédibilité (pour la vérité) et de fiabilité (pour l'honnêteté). Des modèles numériques de plausibilité servent à capturer la crédibilité a priori des messages puis des règles numériques sont proposées pour actualiser ces degrés selon la fiabilité de la source. / This thesis aims at improving the definition and evaluation of deceptive strategies that can manipulate information. Using conceptual, formal and experimental resources, I analyze three deceptive strategies, some of which are standard cases of deception, in particular lies, and others non-standard cases of deception, in particular misleading inferences and strategic omissions. Firstly, I consider definitional aspects. I deal with the definition of lying, and present new empirical data supporting the traditional account of the notion (called the ‘subjective definition’), contradicting recent claims in favour of a falsity clause (leading to an ‘objective definition’). Next, I analyze non-standard cases of deception through the categories of misleading defaults and omissions of information. I use qualitative belief revision to examine a puzzle due to R. Smullyan about the possibility of triggering a default inference to deceive an addressee by omission. Secondly, I consider evaluative aspects. I take the perspective of military intelligence data processing to offer a typology of informational messages based on the descriptive dimensions of truth (for message contents) and honesty (for message sources). I also propose a numerical procedure to evaluate these messages based on the evaluative dimensions of credibility (for truth) and reliability (for honesty). Quantitative plausibility models are used to capture degrees of prior credibility of messages, and dynamic rules are defined to update these degrees depending on the reliability of the source.

En el marco de la pandemia global del coronavirus, las desinformaciones han ido aumentando cada vez más, especialmente, en redes sociales. Aunque este fenómeno no es nuevo, ha cobrado una mayor relevancia en los últimos años debido al avance de las tecnologías. En este trabajo de investigación, uno de los principales planteamientos, busca reconocer cuáles son las herramientas que utilizan los medios de verificación para detectar una noticia falsa en temas de salud e infodemia. Para esto se analizará el trabajo de dos medios verificadores: Ojo Público y Maldita.es / In the framework of the global coronavirus pandemic, misinformation has been increasing more and more, especially on social networks. Although this phenomenon is not new, it has become more relevant in recent years due to the advancement of technologies. In this research work, one of the main approaches, seeks to recognize which are the tools used by the verification media to detect false news on health and infodemic issues. For this, the work of two verifying media will be analyzed: Ojo Público and Maldita.es / Trabajo de investigación

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