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This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature reporting the motives, sociodemographic, attitude/behavior and impacts of fake news during the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting the general population worldwide.

A systematic review approach was adopted based on PRISMA, targeting articles published in five databases from January 2020 to November 2021. The screening resulted in 46 eligible papers.

Results indicate low level of awareness, knowledge, media/health literacy, low trust in science/scientists and entertainment/socialization to be the main motivating drivers for fake news dissemination, whereas the phenomenon is more prominent among those with low socio-economic status, and males. Negative impacts were reported due to fake news dissemination, especially violation to precautionary measures, negative affections, and low trust in government/news, with many believing that others are more susceptible to fake news than themselves.

Considering the pandemic is still on-going and the deleterious consequences of fake news, there is a need for cohort-based interventions from the concerned authorities.

The systematic review covers a wide timeline of 23 months (i.e. up to end of 2022) targeting five well-known databases, hence articles examined are deemed extensive and comprehensive. The review specifically focused on the general population with results revealing interesting motives, sociodemographic profiles, attitude and impact of this phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2022-0082.