Dengue dominates health debate in 2024, but Covid-19 continues to generate concern and misinformation on social media

By FGV ECMI 

• In 2023, the main peaks in the health debate on X were related to Covid-19, but starting from January 2024, Dengue began to contest this central space;
• The narratives surrounding Covid-19 and Dengue are similar, focusing on vaccination and the responsibility of the State in combating the diseases;
• In disinformation messages, Covid-19 and Dengue share the same ritual of denialism, with conspiracy theories, criticism of vaccines, and encouragement of the use of alternative medications such as Chloroquine and Ivermectin.

The digital debate on health between 2023 and 2024 was heavily associated with Covid-19, a topic that became a "flag" for profiles, pages, and groups aligned with the right, evoking broader discussions on vaccination, science, and home treatments, for example. However, from 2024 onwards, dengue began to gain prominence on social media, mobilized through arguments and misinformation similar to those mapped regarding Covid. This is indicated by a study by FGV School of Communication, Media, and Information (FGV ECMI), which analyzed discussions about health on X, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram from January 1, 2023, to February 26, 2024.

Health in focus: the debate on the topic between 2023 and 2024

Evolution of the health debate in X

Period: January 1, 2023 to February 26, 2024

 

Source: X | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

• In 2023, the health debate on X was linked to Covid-19, but from 2024 onwards, Covid-19 began to share space with discussions about Dengue;
• With the exception of the initial peak of mentions, identified in January 2023 and related to the humanitarian crisis of the Yanomami people, the most significant increases in the health debate are related to Covid-19. For example, in May 2023, the announcement of the end of the pandemic generated the highest volume per day of the entire health debate. However, starting in January 2024, Dengue begins to surpass Covid-19, attracting public attention. The focus, up to this point, lies in the increase in cases in Brazil;
• Although they are distinct diseases, the narratives surrounding Covid-19 and Dengue are similar, with strong politicization and a prevalence of conservative and denialist discourses. Thus, attributions of responsibility to the Lula government circulate in both the context of Covid-19 and now, as well as conspiracy theories pointing to alleged "plans" by the WHO regarding both diseases. Vaccination, however, is a differentiating topic: while vaccination against Covid-19 is rejected and associated with various deaths, vaccination against Dengue is demanded from the government.

 

 

 

Main terms about health in X

Period 1: Jan/Jun 2023                                                                Period 2: Jul/Dec 2023

 

                                                         Period 3: Jan/Feb 2024

Source: X | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

• Minister Nísia Trindade stands out among the most mentioned health-related terms on X in 2023. In the first semester, criticisms were related to vaccination, legalization of abortion, and the humanitarian crisis in Yanomami territory. Messages of support for the minister and criticisms of Arthur Lira, following concerns about the possibility of the ministry being part of Lula's ministerial reform, were also associated with the minister. Social issues and the fight against inequality also appeared with the announcements of new government programs at the beginning of the year;
• In the second semester, criticisms of the minister were centered on the debate about vaccinating children and including Covid-19 immunization in the National Immunization Plan (NIP). In this regard, possible side effects and disinformation content related to vaccination are disseminated. Awareness campaigns about mental health and posts warning about the spread of health misinformation on social media are also among the most mentioned terms;
• The Dengue epidemic is the most mentioned topic in the health debate in January and February 2024. The Ministry of Health is blamed both for allegedly refusing to purchase vaccines in July 2023 and for a supposed collapse of the healthcare system in some regions, such as the DF;
• The mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for children also continues to resonate in early 2024, with an emphasis on demanding scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness and safety of vaccines in this age group. Conspiratorial messages claiming that the World Economic Forum is being used by elites to "reshape the world" and alarmist content about a supposed Disease X discussed at the Forum also appear in a tangential manner.

 

Covid-19 and Dengue: nuances and approaches in the digital debate

Evolution of the debate on Covid-19 and Dengue in X

Period: January 1, 2023 to February 26, 2024

 

 

 

• The distribution of mentions of Covid-19 and Dengue throughout 2023 and 2024 highlights the predominance of the Covid debate throughout 2023 and how this was surpassed by significant peaks associated with Dengue between January and February 2024;
• However, the characteristics of the Dengue debate indicate more episodic mentions, mostly related to the current increase in cases, which differs greatly from the discussion about Covid-19, which was constant throughout the period. In this sense, the virus has become a recurring theme in discussions about vaccine reliability, individual freedoms, and state investments in public health;
• Dominant among conservative profiles, debates about Covid-19 and Dengue converge as both are anchored in negationist, conspiratorial, and, in some cases, disinformative content. Negative associations between the diseases and the left are also common, with clear attempts to blame the Lula government.

 

Main pages and profiles in the debate about Covid-19 on Facebook and Instagram

Period: January 1st until February 26th, 2024

 23,260 posts on Facebook | 13,860 posts on Instagram

Source: Facebook and Instagram | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

 

• Just like in the discussion about Dengue, the presence of highly partisan outlets and independent media stands out among the pages and profiles with the highest engagement. Municipal government profiles and local media have a greater presence in this debate, with informative posts on how to combat the mosquito;
• Criticism of the federal government for allegedly refusing to purchase dengue vaccines is prominent among right-leaning profiles on Facebook. Informational content about mosquito control and the vaccine is shared by municipal government pages and media outlets. Additionally, there are some mentions of homemade recipes to boost immunity or repel mosquitoes on the platform;
• Posts with the highest engagement on Instagram are informative and warn about the number of cases and medications contraindicated in case of suspected disease. However, there is also a significant presence of criticism against the federal government for vaccine purchases. The possibility of Davi, a participant in the Big Brother Brasil tv show, having the disease also circulated on entertainment profile.

Disinformative threads in the debate on Covid-19 and  Dengue.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       In the debate about health, specifically regarding Covid-19 and dengue, in the monitored messaging apps, there are circulating disinformation axes focused on: vaccination; the belief that there would be a global "plan" behind both diseases; unproven treatments; and the notion that Covid-19 is related to the increase in dengue cases. These are factors that bring together the discursive construction around these diseases. Both discourses will be further explained in the analyses below.

It is also important to highlight the presence of content that claims scientific studies and authorities in the field of science to legitimize their arguments about vaccination. This activity was observed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, as noted by the FGV ECMI study, and is also observed today, both for content about Covid-19 and in messages about dengue.

Source: Facebook and Instagram | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

 

• Just like in the discussion about Dengue, the presence of highly partisan outlets and independent media stands out among the pages and profiles with the highest engagement. Municipal government profiles and local media have a greater presence in this debate, with informative posts on how to combat the mosquito;
• Criticism of the federal government for allegedly refusing to purchase dengue vaccines is prominent among right-leaning profiles on Facebook. Informational content about mosquito control and the vaccine is shared by municipal government pages and media outlets. Additionally, there are some mentions of homemade recipes to boost immunity or repel mosquitoes on the platform;
• Posts with the highest engagement on Instagram are informative and warn about the number of cases and medications contraindicated in case of suspected disease. However, there is also a significant presence of criticism against the federal government for vaccine purchases. The possibility of Davi, a participant in the Big Brother Brasil tv show, having the disease also circulated on entertainment profile.
  
   

 

 

 

Disinformative threads in the debate on Covid-19 and Dengue                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

In the debate about health, specifically regarding Covid-19 and dengue, in the monitored messaging apps, there are circulating disinformation axes focused on: vaccination; the belief that there would be a global "plan" behind both diseases; unproven treatments; and the notion that Covid-19 is related to the increase in dengue cases. These are factors that bring together the discursive construction around these diseases. Both discourses will be further explained in the analyses below.

It is also important to highlight the presence of content that claims scientific studies and authorities in the field of science to legitimize their arguments about vaccination. This activity was observed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, as noted by the FGV ECMI study, and is also observed today, both for content about Covid-19 and in messages about dengue.

Source: Facebook and Instagram | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

 

• Just like in the discussion about Dengue, the presence of highly partisan outlets and independent media stands out among the pages and profiles with the highest engagement. Municipal government profiles and local media have a greater presence in this debate, with informative posts on how to combat the mosquito;
• Criticism of the federal government for allegedly refusing to purchase dengue vaccines is prominent among right-leaning profiles on Facebook. Informational content about mosquito control and the vaccine is shared by municipal government pages and media outlets. Additionally, there are some mentions of homemade recipes to boost immunity or repel mosquitoes on the platform;
• Posts with the highest engagement on Instagram are informative and warn about the number of cases and medications contraindicated in case of suspected disease. However, there is also a significant presence of criticism against the federal government for vaccine purchases. The possibility of Davi, a participant in the Big Brother Brasil tv show, having the disease also circulated on entertainment profile.
  
   

Desinformation about Covid-19 and Dengue on Telegram and WhatsApp

Period: January 1, 2023 until February 27, 2024

Source: Telegram and WhatsApp | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

• Both sets of disinformation, regarding both dengue and Covid-19, rely on two central pillars: denialism regarding the diseases and the notion that there would be a "globalist agenda" behind the Covid-19 pandemic and now the dengue epidemic;
• It is possible to see, for example, that just as messages circulate on WhatsApp drawing attention to a "kill campaign" of the Covid-19 vaccine whose goal is to "kill 3 billion people worldwide," regarding dengue, mentions are mapped that point to spurious experiments behind the increase in cases of the disease, which would be deliberately spreading globally.;
• In some cases, this connection between Covid-19 and dengue is made directly in the message itself. Within this scope, the notion that both diseases are frauds stands out, as their symptoms are purportedly generated by the effects of 5G on humans. Below, we also dedicate space to explaining the disinformation axes related to treatments for Covid-19 and dengue, as well as messages that blame the epidemic of dengue on the Covid-19 vaccine treatment.

 

Desinformation about Covid-19 and Dengue on Telegram and WhatsApp

Period: January 1, 2023 until February 27, 2024

Source: Telegram and WhatsApp | Elaborated by: FGV ECMI

• Mentions of the medications Ivermectin and Chloroquine, strongly associated with the treatment of Covid-19, have also been mapped as indicative of treatment for combating dengue. In addition to the indication, there is another common factor related to the conspiratorial narrative that there would be an interest in not disclosing the alleged effects of these drugs;
• Finally, the notion that Covid-19 vaccination is what drove the current increase in dengue cases also gains traction among the monitored groups, especially those focused on conspiracy theories or more aligned with the right-wing.