Relative Search Interest and Twitter Altmetrics of Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin in Latin America

Abstract

This study aims to present exploratory and descriptive research about Latin America's online information search and Twitter activity and the repercussions of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and ivermectin, which were at the time considered promising alternatives to prevent or treat COVID-19. From the perspective of Webmetrics and Altmetrics -data were collected and analysed from Twitter around indexed outputs by titles with one of these three drugs and from Google Trends (Relative Search Interest) in Latin American countries. The results demonstrated that there might be parallels between Google Search and Twitter activity. The results also showed that ivermectin was, among the three selected drugs, the most searched in Google Search and higher activity on Latin America's Twitter accounts.