Resources in today’s episode WHO infodemic management 50 actions tracker Johns Hopkins COVID-19 profiling by country The online competition between pro and anti-vaccination views Listen to this episode on-the-go through our podcast site Takeaways The Infodemic Landscape An infodemic is the widespread sharing of misinformation (false information spread accidentally) and disinformation (false information spread with…

Resources in today’s episode

• WHO infodemic management 50 actions tracker
• Johns Hopkins COVID-19 profiling by country
• The online competition between pro and anti-vaccination views
• Listen to this episode on-the-go through our podcast site

Takeaways

The Infodemic Landscape

• An infodemic is the widespread sharing of misinformation (false information spread accidentally) and disinformation (false information spread with an agenda) that makes COVID-19 interventions challenging.
• There is too much information on COVID-19, making it difficult for the general public to discern between factual and non-factual information.
• Frequent shifts in recommendations made by trusted leaders continue to damage the public’s trust in the information they receive.

Four tips for combatting misinformation

• Get to know your audience by conducting surveys, performing social media analyses, and continue to refine how you listen to your audience based on your findings.
• Distill science and research into a more understandable format to make information more approachable.
• Build resilience to misinformation by educating the public on misinformation, how it spreads, and why it’s important to report.
• Engage with local communities by working with religious leaders, employers, unions, chambers of commerce, and other trusted local groups to amplify good health information.

How social media affects the infodemic

• Social media can accelerate misinformation, therefore we must standardize how to respond to misinformation by analyzing how it is shared, how it jumps channels, and how interactions vary across channels.
• Around 67% of people identify providers as a trusted source of information while only 11% report social media as a trusted source.