ABSTRACT
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, lockdowns were issued globally to help prevent the spread of the virus. With the lockdowns, the world of an average person revolved within the four corners of their rooms, and as such, people have turned to the internet for communication and entertainment. The growing fear of the pandemic came with the rise of the Infodemic. Untrue information would spread from various platforms, attacking multiple character and property information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a character-based approach from the Theory of Informative Fiction, the researchers gathered information online from Gen Z and Millennials Facebook users and through an online survey treated with the standard deviation and mean to determine if the target demographic is active Facebook users, whether the respondents are exposed to false information, and can identify information that is not confirmed and factual. The researchers also gathered information from the survey to determine which generations of respondents are more susceptible to falling for false information. The data collected from the target demographic showed that both Gen Zs and Millennials could decipher if the information presented holds no factual basis but also self-reported a high exposure to false information.
Keywords: Misinformation, Malinformation, Disinformation, Theory of Informative Fiction, Character-based approach, Infodemic, COVID-19, Gen Z, Millennials, Philippines, Qualitative-Descriptive design