English abstract
This object of the study is to identify the reasons behind the
spread of electronic rumors during the coronavirus pandemic. It also
aimed to detect the sources and means that contributed to this spread,
to determine the various effects of rumors and to propose the role of
social work in raising awareness to address the issue during the
electronic rumors accompanying the Coronavirus Pandemic
The study is considered a descriptive analytical study. It relied
on a social survey that was applied on 365 Omani youth in age (18-29)
and 7 of experts and specialists. A questionnaire was used to collect the
data and the interview was applied with the experts.
The results of the study indicated that, the main reason behind
the spread of electronic rumors is evolution of communication
technology which is easy to be used by all segments of society. The
study also showed that whatsapp is the application that takes the lead
in spreading rumors among other apps with a rate of 89%. Electronic
rumors caused several effects, as it instigated chaos and confusion in
society and aroused fear among the citizens. It also led people to
believing false information about the virus, and led them as well to use
random sorts of folk medicines to prevent the disease. Additionally, the
results revealed that the negative psychological impacts of rumors was
found to be the biggest effects caused by electronic rumors, with a
relative strength of 84%.
Finally, the study proposed role for social work in raising
awareness to address the electronic rumors accompanying the
coronavirus pandemic.
