A qualitative review of social media sharing and the 2022 monkeypox outbreak: did early labelling help to curb misinformation or fuel the fire?

Background Misinformation, defined as a claim that is false or misleading, considers information that is both shared with the intention of causing harm, and information that is false with no ill intent. Early attempts to downplay the risk of monkeypox (mpox) by singling out men who have sex with men (MSM) may have had the ill effect of stigmatising this group in discussions online. The aim of this study was to evaluate themes present on Instagram related to the 2022 mpox outbreak under #monkeypox. Specifically, this study sought to determine if the pervasive narratives surrounding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly related to government mistrust and conspiracy, were penetrating discussions about mpox.Methods A total of 255 posts under #monkeypox (the top 85 posts per day, every 10 days in July 2022) were collected on Instagram. A content analysis approach, which seeks to quantify themes present, was utilised to evaluate themes present in posts under #monkeypox.Results Contrary to previous research investigating public health misinformation online, the majority of posts under #monkeypox were categorised as accurate information (85.9%). Moreover, a surprising number of posts were classified as anti-misinformation (32.9%), whereby users actively worked to debunk false information being shared online related to mpox.Conclusions We hypothesise that early labelling of the disease as one that strictly affects online MSM communities has resulted in the digital community coming together to fact-check and debunk misinformation under #monkeypox on Instagram. Ever present in our digital world, misinformation continues to threaten public health efforts and, in some cases, stigmatises specific groups. Our work investigated the evolving rhetoric surrounding monkeypox (mpox) during the 2022 outbreak on Instagram, discovering that perhaps early dialogue singling out men who have sex with men shifted discussions online to combat this misinformation. By understanding the way misinformation is spread, we can better protect against it and create improved communication strategies.