University of Kwazulu-Natal

The Covid 19 Misinfodemic Moving Beyond Fact Checking Pmc

Bonisiwe Shabane
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the covid 19 misinfodemic moving beyond fact checking pmc

Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou, Program Director, Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch, Behavioral Research Program, National Cancer Institute, 9609 Medical Center Dr., 3E614, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. Email: chouws@mail.nih.gov This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic or until permissions are revoked in writing. Upon expiration of these permissions, PMC is granted a perpetual license to make this article available via PMC and Europe PMC, consistent with existing copyright protections. Online misinformation regarding COVID-19 has undermined public health efforts to control the novel coronavirus.

To date, public health organizations’ efforts to counter COVID-19 misinformation have focused on identifying and correcting false information on social media platforms. Citing extant literature in health communication and psychology, we argue that these fact-checking efforts are a necessary, but insufficient, response to health misinformation. First, research suggests that fact-checking has several important limitations and is rarely successful in fully undoing the effects of misinformation exposure. Second, there are many factors driving misinformation sharing and acceptance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic—such as emotions, distrust, cognitive biases, racism, and xenophobia—and these factors both make individuals more vulnerable to certain... We conclude by outlining several additional measures, beyond fact-checking, that may help further mitigate the effects of misinformation in the current pandemic. Keywords: health communication, infectious disease, social media, misinformation

The rampant spread of online misinformation surrounding COVID-19 and the virus that causes it has significantly undermined the adoption of recommended prevention and control behaviors (Bridgman et al., 2020) and decreased support for crucial,... Efforts to combat online misinformation undertaken by government and health organizations, like the World Health Organization (2020), have largely focused on fact-checking, correcting, or debunking myths and falsehoods. Although such reactive responses are valuable, social science research suggests the effectiveness of information correction is likely to be limited (Lewandowsky et al., 2012). Solutions exclusively focused on providing evidence-based information and debunking false information are insufficient because they do not account for many of the critical factors that contribute to acceptance and sharing of misinformation in the... Citing recent literature on misinformation, we argue that additional actions will need to be taken to adequately address the ongoing COVID-19 “misinfodemic.” Online misinformation regarding COVID-19 has undermined public health efforts to control the novel coronavirus.

To date, public health organizations' efforts to counter COVID-19 misinformation have focused on identifying and correcting false information on social media platforms. Citing extant literature in health communication and psychology, we argue that these fact-checking efforts are a necessary, but insufficient, response to health misinformation. First, research suggests that fact-checking has several important limitations and is rarely successful in fully undoing the effects of misinformation exposure. Second, there are many factors driving misinformation sharing and acceptance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic-such as emotions, distrust, cognitive biases, racism, and xenophobia-and these factors both make individuals more vulnerable to certain... We conclude by outlining several additional measures, beyond fact-checking, that may help further mitigate the effects of misinformation in the current pandemic. Keywords: health communication; infectious disease; misinformation; social media.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. * Correspondence: Email: jpsosa0001@gmail.com; Tel: +16463215470. Received 2021 Nov 25; Revised 2021 Dec 20; Accepted 2022 Jan 4; Collection date 2022. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) Since the inception of the current pandemic, COVID-19 related misinformation has played a role in defaulting control of the situation. It has become evident that the internet, social media, and other communication outlets with readily available data have contributed to the dissemination and availability of misleading information.

It has perpetuated beliefs that led to vaccine avoidance, mask refusal, and utilization of medications with insignificant scientific data, ultimately contributing to increased morbidity. Undoubtedly, misinformation has become a challenge and a burden to individual health, public health, and governments globally. Our review article aims at providing an overview and summary regarding the role of media, other information outlets, and their impact on the pandemic. The goal of this article is to increase awareness of the negative impact of misinformation on the pandemic. In addition, we discuss a few recommendations that could aid in decreasing this burden, as preventing the conception and dissemination of misinformation is essential. Keywords: COVID-19, healthcare, misinformation, public health, social media

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Declaration Of Conflicting Interests: The Authors Declared No Potential Conflicts

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. * Correspondence: Email: jpsosa0001@gmail.com; Tel: +16463215470. Received 2021 Nov 25; Revised 2021 Dec 20; Accepted 2022 Jan 4; Collection date 2022. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative C...