Challenges associated with accelerated preprint availability
The rise in preprint servers has also narrowed the gap between academic
and general audiences \cite{fox_preprint_2018}, providing public access to research
material of immense topical interest. However, the unreviewed nature of
preprints has proven a double-edged sword, allowing conclusions lacking
scientific support to filter through various media channels. Several
COVID-19 research preprints have been highly criticised, with some now
retracted as a result.
One example claim was that the SARS-CoV-2 genome had either naturally or
artificially acquired genetic material from HIV based on sequence
similarity of observed inserts \citep{pradhan_uncanny_2020}; this was soon demonstrated to
be a simple false positive resulting from the short sequence lengths in
question \citep{xiao_hiv-1_2020,zhang_protein_2020}. Another unreviewed early access article via theJournal of Medical Virology purported the many-banded krait
(Bungarus multicinctus ; an elapid snake species) to be a likely
host of SARS-CoV-2 \citep{ji_cross-species_2020}. This was evidenced via similarities in
codon usage between virus and krait, which were then shown to be
artefactual through reanalyses that highlight the codon usage of
SARS-CoV-2 is almost identical to other mammalian betacoronaviruses
\citep{andersen_ncov-2019_2020,zhang_protein_2020}.
Though academic communities were quick to address these claims, their
early availability as preprints meant their findings were already widely
disseminated within mainstream media articles \cite{lee_shoddy_2020} and public
perceptions. Online searches for terms linking SARS-CoV-2 to HIV and
snake hosts immediately increased following the respective preprint post
dates (Figure 3). This further fuelled the uncontrolled and unfiltered
spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19, appropriately termed an
‘infodemic’ \cite{zarocostas_how_2020}. While it is tempting to think that public
misinformation can only originate from non-scientific sources,
misrepresented preprint research needs to be recognised as a potential
driver of such infodemics.