Social media as a platform for information and support for coronavirus: analysis ofCOVID-19 Facebook groups

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the characteristics, as well as the purpose and posts of the COVID-19 Facebook groups. Design/methodology/approach - A systematic search for COVID-19 Facebook groups was conducted on June 1, 2020. Characteristics of the groups were examined using descriptive statistics. Mann-Whitney test was used to study the differences between groups. The study of the most popular groups' posts was also carried out using the content analysis method. Findings - The groups had a combined membership of 2,729,061 users. A total of 147,885 posts were received. There were about approximately 60% public groups. A high percentage of the groups (86.5%) had descriptions. The results showed a significant relationship between the groups' description status and the number of members (p-value = 0.016). The majority of COVID-19 Facebook groups (56%) were created to meet their members' information needs. The highest number of studied posts were related to vaccination (35.2%), followed by curfew rules (19.6%) and symptoms (10.6%). Originality/value - Translating these insights into policies and practices will put policymakers and health-care providers in a stronger position to make better use of Facebook groups to support and enhance public knowledge about COVID-19.