Table 2.
Descriptive statistics (mean [std]) and t-test results of the extracted topics
ID | Topic | Fake news | Real news | t-value (F-R) | p-value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(a) English | |||||
E1 | getting vaccinated | 0.043 [0.140] | 0.005 [0.022] | 31.852 | < .001*** |
E2 | pandemic | 0.006 [0.031] | 0.022 [0.104] | –16.120 | < .001*** |
E3 | Vaccinequity | 0.015 [0.023] | 0.039 [0.126] | –21.220 | < .001*** |
E4 | face mask | 0.010 [0.050] | 0.018 [0.092] | –8.808 | < .001*** |
E5 | depopulation | 0.016 [0.083] | 0.003 [0.003] | 19.082 | < .001*** |
E6 | deaths | 0.015 [0.043] | 0.036 [0.121] | –18.508 | < .001*** |
E7 | unvaccinated people | 0.038 [0.106] | 0.011 [0.019] | 29.878 | < .001*** |
E8 | cases | 0.016 [0.027] | 0.048 [0.147] | –23.524 | < .001*** |
E9 | virus origin | 0.025 [0.106] | 0.007 [0.022] | 18.820 | < .001*** |
E10 | pandemic in Italy | 0.028 [0.104] | 0.009 [0.019] | 20.111 | < .001*** |
E11 | U.S. President | 0.021 [0.087] | 0.010 [0.024] | 14.279 | < .001*** |
E12 | UK lockdown | 0.004 [0.033] | 0.012 [0.087] | –9.244 | < .001*** |
E13 | India fighting COVID-19 | 0.009 [0.010] | 0.024 [0.107] | –15.314 | < .001*** |
E14 | COVID-19 vaccine | 0.017 [0.050] | 0.025 [0.092] | –7.975 | < .001*** |
E15 | flu vaccine | 0.010 [0.045] | 0.016 [0.075] | –7.674 | < .001*** |
E16 | protective measures | 0.010 [0.028] | 0.024 [0.098] | –15.621 | < .001*** |
E17 | cases in Nigeria | 0.005 [0.004] | 0.018 [0.102] | –14.349 | < .001*** |
E18 | Covidview report | 0.011 [0.042] | 0.020 [0.081] | –10.565 | < .001*** |
E19 | back to school | 0.009 [0.054] | 0.005 [0.024] | 7.948 | < .001*** |
E20 | chicken contamination | 0.008 [0.054] | 0.004 [0.018] | 8.313 | < .001*** |
E21 | India lockdown | 0.017 [0.081] | 0.006 [0.015] | 15.216 | < .001*** |
E22 | Bill Gates | 0.009 [0.063] | 0.001 [0.003] | 14.158 | < .001*** |
E23 | case updates | 0.006 [0.029] | 0.014 [0.093] | –9.531 | < .001*** |
E24 | testing | 0.005 [0.031] | 0.007 [0.048] | –3.999 | < .001*** |
E25 | travel | 0.010 [0.045] | 0.009 [0.056] | 1.534 | 0.125 |
(b) Chinese | |||||
C1 | Deaths | 0.033 [0.065] | 0.058 [0.171] | –6.615 | < .001*** |
C2 | Shenshan hospital | 0.070 [0.175] | 0.068 [0.160] | 0.350 | 0.727 |
C3 | prevention & control | 0.017 [0.054] | 0.025 [0.095] | –3.299 | 0.001** |
C4 | confirmed cases | 0.025 [0.030] | 0.057 [0.159] | –11.105 | < .001*** |
C5 | viral infection | 0.039 [0.114] | 0.020 [0.102] | 4.117 | < .001*** |
C6 | protective measures | 0.048 [0.106] | 0.030 [0.123] | 4.067 | < .001*** |
C7 | pandemic in U.S | 0.049 [0.161] | 0.019 [0.068] | 4.930 | < .001*** |
C8 | fighting COVID-19 | 0.017 [0.035] | 0.028 [0.105] | –4.850 | < .001*** |
C9 | COVID-19 vaccine | 0.026 [0.067] | 0.022 [0.102] | 1.325 | 0.186 |
C10 | pandemic in Japan | 0.011 [0.008] | 0.030 [0.126] | –8.869 | < .001*** |
C11 | British Prime Minister | 0.016 [0.016] | 0.029 [0.123] | –6.373 | < .001*** |
C12 | preventative measures | 0.055 [0.147] | 0.007 [0.038] | 8.658 | < .001*** |
C13 | wastewater surveillance | 0.019 [0.097] | 0.030 [0.135] | –2.538 | 0.011 |
C14 | PCR testing | 0.006 [0.006] | 0.014 [0.072] | –6.463 | < .001*** |
C15 | pandemic in Spain | 0.002 [0.002] | 0.020 [0.118] | –8.768 | < .001*** |
***: p < .001; **: p < .01
Topics in bold denote overlapping topics between news in the two languages.