Table 2.

COVID-19 misinformation on social media platforms by Asian American subgroup.

Asian American subgroup	Social media platform	Special features	COVID-19 misinformation	Significance of social media platform in disseminating misinformation	(Potential) Impact(s) of misinformation
Chinese Americans	WeChat	• Moments (朋友圈 péng you quān): private chat groups and private news feed (36). • Forwarding and sharing	Conspiracy Theories: • Origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a bioweapon engineered in the U.S. in the economic and psychological warfare against China (16) • Creation of the SAR-CoV-2 virus by the Chinese government in the laboratory as part of its national biowarfare program (16) COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment: • Avoiding cold foods and beverages • Drinking hot water COVID-19 Vaccines: • Rumor that Moderna vaccine is more effective than Pfizer vaccine (37)	• WeChat is used by 19 million individuals in the United States and has emerged as the central hub for COVID-19 information and misinformation sharing in the Chinese American community, particularly among Chinese immigrants.	• Conspiracy theories are concerning as over a quarter (26%) of Americans believe that COVID-19 was released as an act of bioterrorism (14). • Vaccination hesitancy among the Chinese American community was observed in several COVID-19 vaccine webinars hosted in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese by the NYU CSAAH where webinar attendees raised comments questioning the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine over the Moderna vaccine. Anecdotal evidence from the community suggests that some community members contemplated delaying their vaccination to get the Moderna vaccine over the Pfizer vaccine.
Korean Americans	KaKaoTalk	• Forwarding and sharing	Spread of COVID-19: • Rumor that Korean Air flight attendant with the coronavirus had dined at a local Los Angeles (LA) Koreatown restaurant (38) COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment: • Drinking hot water at 15-min intervals (39) • Spraying salt water (40) • Consuming curry powder and garlic (40)	• KaKaoTalk has been cited as the main source of disinformation by a former staff from Korea's National Assembly Defense Committee (41).	• The impact of the rumor in the Korean American community was instrumental, leading to decline of diners and sales at Korean restaurants (38).
	YouTube			• Research on Korean-language COVID-19 related medical information on YouTube found that 37% of the 105 analyzed YouTube videos contained misinformation (42).
Vietnamese Americans			Parallels that of the Chinese American community, such that misinformation is centered on: • Conspiracy theories on virus' origin (26) • Progression of the pandemic (26) • Prevention and treatment home remedies (26) COVID-19 vaccines: • No need to wear mask post-vaccination (43) • No need to get vaccination if one has already tested positive for COVID-19 (44) • One dose of COVID-19 vaccine is sufficient for protection (45)		• Vaccine hesitancy among community members
	YouTube (TheKingRadio and TrainMaicoUSA)	• In-language content	COVID-19 Vaccines: • Conspiracy theories of secret government (46) • Vaccine-induced COVID-19 contractions (46) • Vaccine-induced deaths (46)	• Closely tied to politics and intergenerational trauma • Red-baiting, tactic used commonly to advance specific political agendas by labeling policies and politicians as “socialist” or “communist” • According to the Progressive Vietnamese-American Organization (PIVOT), the Vietnamese community is red-baited to accept misinformation that denounces socialism and communism.	• Vaccine hesitancy among community members
	Facebook and email chains
	Local television news channels		COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment: • Gargling salt water (47)
South Asian American	WhatsApp and Facebook	• Direct private messaging between individuals and groups of family and friends (48) • Forwarding and sharing (48)	Role of Religion in Misinformation: • Presence of animal products in vaccines (e.g., pork-related concerns among Muslims or beef-related concerns among Hindus) (49) • Religious tensions between Muslims and Hindus (e.g., Muslims licking plates, spitting on dollar bills, hashtags such as #CoronaJihad (50) COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment: • Wearing hijab to prevent COVID-19 spread (51)		• Vaccine hesitancy among community members