Evaluating and Advancing Deviant Cyber Flash Mob (DCFM) Model to Combat COVID-19 Misinfodemic

The major research goal of the study is to study COVID-19-related cross-media misinformation campaigns and evaluate the deviant cyber flash mob (DCFM) model to measure and track the power of such campaigns. The study focuses on analyzing how decentralized online individual actions transform into collective actions. Further, what necessary conditions are required that lead to the emergence of the DCFM phenomenon and, subsequently, its sustenance? Specifically, the proposed study (1) extends focal structure analysis to identify key coordinating units spreading COVID-19-related misinformation; and (2) measures the power of focal structures using the DCFM model.