  COVID-19 resulted in an infodemic, which could erode public trust, impede
virus containment, and outlive the pandemic itself. The evolving and fragmented
media landscape is a key driver of the spread of misinformation. Using
misinformation identified by the fact-checking platform by Tencent and posts on
Weibo, our results showed that the evolution of misinformation follows an
issue-attention cycle, pertaining to topics such as city lockdown, cures, and
preventions, and school reopening. Sources of authority weigh in on these
topics, but their influence is complicated by peoples' pre-existing beliefs and
cultural practices. Finally, social media has a complicated relationship with
established or legacy media systems. Sometimes they reinforce each other, but
in general, social media may have a topic cycle of its own making. Our findings
shed light on the distinct characteristics of misinformation during the
COVID-19 and offer insights into combating misinformation in China and across
the world at large.
