Mapping the dissemination of scientific literature during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The use of social media continues to introduce novel means for the communication of scientific knowledge. We assessed the change in social media use between pandemics regarding total shares, rates of dissemination and rates of global uptake of articles communicating the spread of diseases between epicentres. We found a substantial temporal increase in the use of social media for this purpose, as well as large global discrepancies in circulation, highlighting the role social media has in the communication of scientific knowledge globally and the importance of journals adopting social media policies.