Observational studyPloS one2023
The COVID-19 and chloroquine infodemic: Cross-sectional observational study of content analysis on YouTube.
Observational study in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pediatric rheumatology on social media: experts ensure accuracy, public drives engagement - a comparative analysis.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between quality and features related to internet users of the most viewed YouTube videos about COVID-19 and chloroquine, during the first wave of the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study focusing on the most viewed YouTube videos on COVID-19 and chloroquine treatment, in French and English. The primary outcome was the association between video quality as assessed by DISCERN and modified JAMA scores, and video features related to internet users as assessed by number of viewership and likes. By June 2020, 168 videos accumulating more than 57 million views and nearly 2 million reactions from Internet users, were included. Most of the videos did not support or oppose the treatment and came from news channels (N = 100; 60%). Videos taking sides were mostly pro-chloroquine (N = 69; 89%). The number of non-factual videos analyzed was very low (N = 3; 2%). The quality of the videos was average (mean DISCERN score = 2.4 (DS 1.0) and mean modified JAMA score = 2.6 (DS 0.6)) and declined over time. The best quality videos were those published by health care professionals or those from educational channels. Most experts interviewed were men (N = 136; 81%). More than 1 in 5 videos featured a political figure (N = 35; 21%), and these were mostly pro-chloroquine with lower DISCERN or modified JAMA scores (p<0.001). We found an association between the number of likes and the quality of the videos evaluated by the DISCERN score (rho = 0.29; p<0.001) and the modified JAMA score (rho = 0.30; p<0.001). The association observed between the quality of the videos and the number of likes suggests a better health literacy and critical thinking of lay internet users. Although YouTube has become a major player in the dissemination of medical information, more involvement of health professionals and governmental organizations is needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.