The Covid-19 catastrophe: A science communication mess?

Following the declaration, in March 2020, of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was an escalation of disinformation, involving multiple actors and reaching global dimensions. In this article, we analyze the possible causes and characteristics of the spread of disinformation on this issue. Disinformation about science can be explained by the distance that separates scientific knowledge from common knowledge and the difficult relationship between science and the media. The pandemic has multiplied the number of scientific publications and has accelerated publication rates, which has contributed to the dissemination of provisional, erroneous, or totally false information. A process of politicization has also developed, which has led to misinformation. In addition, the need to confront this health crisis has led society to demand accurate information from science, despite the fact that in many cases there is only uncertainty. The experience of this pandemic highlights the importance of providing citizens with accessible and rigorous knowledge that creates confidence in science. To achieve this, it is necessary to have specialized professionals capable of providing rigorous information, not only on the results but also on the research processes.

Health and science-related disinformation on COVID-19: A content analysis of hoaxes identified by fact-checkers in Spain.

A massive "infodemic" developed in parallel with the global COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to public misinformation at a time when access to quality information was crucial. This research aimed to analyze the science and health-related hoaxes that were spread during the pandemic with the objectives of (1) identifying the characteristics of the form and content of such false information, and the platforms used to spread them, and (2) formulating a typology that can be used to classify the different types of hoaxes according to their connection with scientific information. The study was conducted by analyzing the content of hoaxes which were debunked by the three main fact-checking organizations in Spain in the three months following WHO's announcement of the pandemic (N = 533). The results indicated that science and health content played a prominent role in shaping the spread of these hoaxes during the pandemic. The most common hoaxes on science and health involved information on scientific research or health management, used text, were based on deception, used real sources, were international in scope, and were spread through social networks. Based on the analysis, we proposed a system for classifying science and health-related hoaxes, and identified four types according to their connection to scientific knowledge: "hasty" science, decontextualized science, badly interpreted science, and falsehood without a scientific basis. The rampant propagation and widespread availability of disinformation point to the need to foster media and scientific caution and literacy among the public and increase awareness of the importance of timing and substantiation of scientific research. The results can be useful in improving media literacy to face disinformation, and the typology we formulate can help develop future systems for automated detection of health and science-related hoaxes.

Disinformation in times of pandemic: typology of hoaxes on Covid-19

Drawing upon the misinformation stories debunked by the three accredited fact-checking platforms in Spain, a content analysis of all the hoaxes (N = 292) bound to the Covid-19 pandemic is performed, over the first month of the state of alarm decreed by the Spanish Government (March 14th, 2020 – April 13th, 2020). The study shows that the hoaxes about the coronavirus were disseminated mainly on social networks and, among them, especially in closed ones, such as the WhatsApp mobile messaging application. It also detects the most frequent formal and content peculiarities of misinformation. The results reveal that the pandemic, in addition to generating a large number of hoaxes on health and science, also led to the dissemination of many political fake news. The formats, sources and territories of origin of the hoaxes are also explored. Beyond the empirical results, this study makes theoretical contributions in the framework of the emerging studies on information disorders. Specifically, it provides a definition of hoax, as well as a typology in which four main types are identified: joke, exaggeration, decontextualization and deception. Based on these four types, a ‘hoax severity diagram’ is proposed.