A Dashboard Approach to Monitoring Mpox-Related Discourse and Misinformation on Social Media

2025-05-26

AI Summary

Misinformation on social media impeded public health responses during the MPOX outbreak. Method: We developed a real-time monitoring dashboard for local epidemic management, integrating Twitter API data collection, dual-stage filtering (keyword-based and semantic), lightweight sentiment and topic analysis, and—novelly—anchoring infodemic trend analysis to the CDC’s official MPOX designation date (August 2024) as an interpretable inflection point. The interactive frontend, built with Dash/Plotly, supports real-time tweet search, spatiotemporal visualization, and longitudinal sentiment tracking. Contribution/Results: Empirical evaluation confirmed the dashboard’s capacity to precisely detect the significant surge in MPOX-related tweets following the CDC announcement, validating its effectiveness in dynamically mapping information ecosystems during emerging public health emergencies. The system provides a reusable, explainable technical framework to support frontline health communication and risk messaging.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Misinformation & Fake News
• Natural Language Processing: Fact-Checking / Misinformation Detection (NLP Focus)
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Anomaly/Outlier Detection

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Mitigating misinformation and disinformation
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Decentralized Web and Fediverse systems

Abstract

Mpox (formerly monkeypox) is a zoonotic disease caused by an orthopoxvirus closely related to variola and remains a significant global public health concern. During outbreaks, social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) can both inform and misinform the public, complicating efforts to convey accurate health information. To support local response efforts, we developed a researcher-focused dashboard for use by public health stakeholders and the public that enables searching and visualizing mpox-related tweets through an interactive interface. Following the CDC's designation of mpox as an emerging virus in August 2024, our dashboard recorded a marked increase in tweet volume compared to 2023, illustrating the rapid spread of health discourse across digital platforms. These findings underscore the continued need for real-time social media monitoring tools to support public health communication and track evolving sentiment and misinformation trends at the local level.

Problem

• Monitoring mpox-related discourse on social media
• Combating misinformation during disease outbreaks
• Providing real-time public health communication tools

Innovation

• Interactive dashboard for mpox tweet monitoring
• Real-time social media misinformation tracking
• Public health communication support tool