This article examines use of a Papua New Guinea (PNG) Facebook group, Fly River Forum, with reference to the COVID‐19 global pandemic. From about mid‐March 2020, when the PNG Government declared a State of Emergency, to early May, members of that forum shared an intense interest in the pandemic and were deeply concerned with its possible implications for the country. The great majority of COVID‐related posts, and associated comments, combined delivery of relevant information with scepticism about some of that information. Most participants did not take either religious tropes or conspiracy theories as primary sources of comfort or explanation. We argue that Fly River Forum played a positive role in the ways that people engaged with what could have emerged as a health disaster. More generally, geographically focused sites such as this provide a valuable barometer of local opinion and deserve close attention by politicians and policymakers in PNG.

中文翻译：

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巴布亚新几内亚的COVID-19和Facebook：飞河论坛

本文考察了巴布亚新几内亚（PNG）Facebook小组Fly River论坛的使用情况，并参考了COVID-19全球大流行。从2020年3月中旬巴布亚新几内亚政府宣布进入紧急状态以来，到5月初，该论坛的成员都对这种大流行病产生了浓厚的兴趣，并对这种疾病可能对该国产生的影响深表关切。与COVID相关的绝大多数帖子以及相关评论将相关信息的传递与对某些信息的怀疑相结合。大多数参与者没有将宗教比喻或阴谋论作为安慰或解释的主要来源。我们认为，“飞河论坛”在人们参与可能导致健康灾难的活动中发挥了积极作用。更普遍，