The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a surge in misinformation and confusion, with one particularly alarming claim suggesting that Americans were drinking bleach as a preventive measure against the virus.
This notion was based on a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2020, which reported that 4 per cent of adult respondents admitted to consuming diluted bleach solutions and other disinfectants. However, a recent peer-reviewed study raises questions about the accuracy of these findings and highlights the influence of problematic respondents in distorting survey results.
Due to its startling data and timing—following former President Trump’s controversial news conference during which he suggested injecting disinfectants into the body as a potential COVID-19 treatment—the CDC study attracted much media attention. Trump’s remarks caused commotion and prompted Lysol to issue a statement warning people against using their disinfectants internally.
Many thought that Trump’s comments had a direct impact on the survey’s findings, showing a connection between his words and people misusing bleach and other home cleaners.
However, the recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE attempted to replicate the CDC survey and found that reports of ingesting household cleaners primarily came from what the researchers term “problematic respondents.” These respondents can include individuals who are careless or inattentive while filling out surveys, bots that provide random answers, or survey farms that produce meaningless responses for incentives.
Survey research is significantly hampered by the number of problematic respondents, which also calls into question the efficacy of public health regulations. The authors of the study stress the significance of recognising and dealing with troublesome respondents, especially when polling uncommon events like the consumption of household cleaning products.
Inaccurate information can spread misinformation and undermine public confidence in institutions. The researchers stress the need to interpret these data cautiously due to the influence of problematic respondents, even though they were able to reproduce the CDC survey’s findings that about 4 per cent of respondents reported using home cleaners.
Presenting such activities as commonplace may unintentionally reinforce and normalise risky behaviour. In order to ensure the quality and trustworthiness of survey data and ultimately protect the public’s health, it is essential to eliminate problematic respondent bias.
It is crucial to critically assess survey results, take into account the impact of problematic respondents, and rely on rigorous research to make decisions around public health policies.