Twitter Conversations About COVID-19 During Pre-Pandemic Period: Stigma and Information Format Cues

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (2020a) declared COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, a global pandemic. Using a content analysis (N = 3,056) and social network analysis, we explored the role of Twitter in disseminating stigma messages about the disease and the country where the virus originated. In particular, we explored four stigma-related cues and information-related cues in message content during the pre-pandemic period (December 31, 2019-February 10, 2020). Results indicate that in the dataset, 37.6% of the Tweets had stigma cues and 34.1% Tweets contained information messages. Laypersons with Twitter handles were the primary source of stigma messages. Social media influencers were one of the primary sources for both stigma and information messages. Media organizations were also one of the primary sources of information messages.