Narrative Trends over the COVID-19 Pandemic: Digital Social Listening to Inform WHO Infodemic Management.

The COVID-19 infodemic is an overwhelming amount of information that has challenged pandemic communication and epidemic response. WHO has produced weekly infodemic insights reports to identify questions, concerns, information voids expressed and experienced by people online. Publicly available data was collected and categorized to a public health taxonomy to enable thematic analysis. Analysis showed three key periods of narrative volume peaks. Understanding how conversations change over time can help inform future infodemic preparedness and prevention planning.

An Adaptive Digital Intelligence System to Support Infodemic Management: The WHO EARS Platform.

The WHO Early AI-Supported Response with Social Listening (EARS) platform was developed to help inform infodemic response during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was continual monitoring and evaluation of the platform and feedback from end-users was sought on a continual basis. Iterations were made to the platform in response to user needs, including the introduction of new languages and countries, and additional features to better enable more fine-grained and rapid analysis and reporting. The platform demonstrates how a scalable, adaptable system can be iterated upon to continue to support those working in emergency preparedness and response.

Protecting public's wellbeing against COVID-19 infodemic: The role of trust in information sources and rapid dissemination and transparency of information over time.

Objectives: This study examined how trust in the information about COVID-19 from social media and official media as well as how the information was disseminated affect public's wellbeing directly and indirectly through perceived safety over time. Methods: Two online surveys were conducted in China, with the first survey (Time1, N = 22,718) being at the early stage of the pandemic outbreak and the second one (Time 2, N = 2,901) two and a half years later during the zero-COVID policy lockdown period. Key measured variables include trust in official media and social media, perceived rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19-related information, perceived safety, and emotional responses toward the pandemic. Data analysis includes descriptive statistical analysis, independent samples t-test, Pearson correlations, and structural equation modeling. Results: Trust in official media, perceived rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19-related information, perceived safety, as well as positive emotional response toward COVID-19 increased over time, while trust in social media and depressive response decreased over time. Trust in social media and official media played different roles in affecting public's wellbeing over time. Trust in social media was positively associated with depressive emotions and negatively associated with positive emotion directly and indirectly through decreased perceived safety at Time 1. However, the negative effect of trust in social media on public's wellbeing was largely decreased at Time 2. In contrast, trust in official media was linked to reduced depressive response and increased positive response directly and indirectly through perceived safety at both times. Rapid dissemination and transparency of COVID-19 information contributed to enhanced trust in official media at both times. Conclusion: The findings highlight the important role of fostering public trust in official media through rapid dissemination and transparency of information in mitigating the negative impact of COVID-19 infodemic on public's wellbeing over time.

The Next Infodemic: Abortion Misinformation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an infodemic as the proliferation of false or misleading information that leads to confusion, mistrust in health authorities, and the rejection of public health recommendations. The devastating impacts of an infodemic on public health were felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are now on the precipice of another infodemic, this one regarding abortion. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization resulted in the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which had protected a woman's right to have an abortion for nearly 50 years. The reversal of Roe v. Wade has given way to an abortion infodemic that is being exacerbated by a confusing and rapidly changing legislative landscape, the proliferation of abortion disinformants on the web, lax efforts by social media companies to abate abortion misinformation, and proposed legislation that threatens to prohibit the distribution of evidence-based abortion information. The abortion infodemic threatens to worsen the detrimental effects of the Roe v. Wade reversal on maternal morbidity and mortality. It also comes with unique barriers to traditional abatement efforts. In this piece, we lay out these challenges and urgently call for a public health research agenda on the abortion infodemic to stimulate the development of evidence-based public health efforts to mitigate the impact of misinformation on the increased maternal morbidity and mortality that is expected to result from abortion restrictions, particularly among marginalized populations.

Psychological inoculation protects against the social media infodemic.

Misinformation can have a profound detrimental impact on populations' wellbeing. In this large UK-based online experiment (n = 2430), we assessed the performance of false tag and inoculation interventions in protecting against different forms of misinformation ('variants'). While previous experiments have used perception- or intention-based outcome measures, we presented participants with real-life misinformation posts in a social media platform simulation and measured their engagement, a more ecologically valid approach. Our pre-registered mixed-effects models indicated that both interventions reduced engagement with misinformation, but inoculation was most effective. However, random differences analysis revealed that the protection conferred by inoculation differed across posts. Moderation analysis indicated that immunity provided by inoculation is robust to variation in individuals' cognitive reflection. This study provides novel evidence on the general effectiveness of inoculation interventions over false tags, social media platforms' current approach. Given inoculation's effect heterogeneity, a concert of interventions will likely be required for future safeguarding efforts.

Взаимодействие с конфессиональными партнерами при чрезвычайных ситуациях в области здравоохранения: временный инструмент внедрения

В настоящем инструменте внедрения представлены практические рекомендации по взаимодействию с конфессиональными партнерами в целях обеспечения готовности к чрезвычайным ситуациям и реагированию на них, предназначенные для органов здравоохранения и других профильных органов управления на национальном и местном уровнях, учреждений ООН, включая ВОЗ на страновом уровне, конфессиональных партнеров и других организаций, заинтересованных в таком взаимодействии.

Unlocking infodemics and mysteries in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: Nexus of conspiracy beliefs, digital informational support, psychological Well-being, and religious fatalism.

Guarding against an anti-science camouflage within infodemics is paramount for sustaining the global vaccination drive. Vaccine hesitancy remains a growing concern and a significant threat to public health, especially in developing countries. Infodemics, conspiracy beliefs and religious fatalism primarily fuel vaccine hesitancy. In addition, anti-vaccine disinformation, lack of understanding, and erroneous religious beliefs also trigger vaccine hesitancy. Global behavioral strategies such as wearing face masks and long-term preventive measures (i.e., COVID-19 vaccination) have effectively limited the virus's spread. Despite the alarming rate of global deaths (i.e., over 99% being unvaccinated), a large proportion of the global population remains reluctant to vaccinate. New evidence validates the usefulness of technology-driven communication strategies (i.e., digital interventions) to address the complex socio-psychological influence of the pandemic. Hence, the present research explored the digital information processing model to assess the interface between informational support (through digital interventions) and antecedents of vaccine hesitancy. This research involved two separate studies: a focus group to operationalize the construct of infodemics, which remained ambiguous in previous literature (Study 1), followed by a cross-sectional survey (Study 2) to examine the conceptual model. Data were collected from 1906 respondents through a standard questionnaire administered online. The focus group's findings revealed a multi-dimensional nature of infodemics that was also validated in Study 2. The cross-sectional survey results substantiated infodemics, religious fatalism and conspiracy beliefs as significant predictors of vaccine hesitancy. Similarly, conspiracy beliefs negatively influence an individual's psychological well-being. Furthermore, information support (through digital intervention) affected infodemics and religious fatalism, whereas it inversely influenced the strength of their relationships with vaccine hesitancy. Information support (through digital intervention) also moderated the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and psychological well-being.

Rompiendo la infodemia: descubriendo el SARS-CoV-2 / Breaking infodemic: discovering SARS-CoV-2

By December 2019, multiple cases of unexplained pneumonia were reported in some hospitals in the city of Wuhan, China. Since then, it had been confirmed that it corresponded to an acute respiratory infection caused by a new coronavirus that spread quickly, becoming pandemic in a very short time. On the other hand, this pandemic forced confinement for months, something unprecedented. In that time, millions of people went online for entertainment, education, etc. Consequently, the use of the Internet increased, bringing, on the one hand, online education, and entertainment on the Internet, ensuring social distancing; and on the other hand, it brought new new risks to human life, among them rumors. In this way and given the large number of publications that could denote the level of misinformation about COVID-19 and the impact it could have on global public health, various scientific publications were analyzed and identified from a bibliometric point of view. Potential relationships between the descriptors obtained from the bibliometric search were identified. The results were conglomerated into 5 clusters: Cluster 1, related to studies on access to information provided on COVID-19; cluster 2 shows the list of studies that have been carried out on the information on the COVID-19 vaccine, cluster 3 analyzes the different responses given by conspiracy theories, rumors and misinformation about COVID-19, the Group 4 shows cross-sectional and longitudinal research on COVID-19 and the information it provides to the health sector, and cluster 5 represents studies on scientific production and communication that have contributed to global health during the pandemic(AU)

Para diciembre de 2019, se registraron múltiples casos de una neumonía inexplicables en algunos hospitales de la ciudad de Wuhan, China. Desde ese momento se había confirmado correspondía a una infección respiratoria aguda causada por un nuevo coronavirus que se propagó rápidamente haciéndose pandémico en muy poco tiempo. Por otra parte, esta pademia obligó a un confinamiento por meses, algo sin precedente. En ese tiempo, millones de personas se conectaron en línea para entretenimiento, educación, etc. En consecuencia, el uso de Internet aumentó trayendo, por una parte, educación online y entretenimiento en Internet asegurando el distanciamiento social; y por otra parte, trajo nuevos nuevos riesgos a la vida humana, entre ellos los rumores. En ese sentido, y ante la gran cantidad de publicaciones que podrían denotar el nivel de desinformación sobre el COVID-19 y el impacto que podría tener en la salud pública mundial, se analizaron e identificaron diversas publicaciones científicas desde el punto de vista bibliométrico. Se identificaron las relaciones potenciales entre los descriptores arrojados de la búsqueda bibliométrica. Los resultados se conglomeraron en 5 clúster: El clúster 1, relacionado con los estudios sobre el acceso a la información proporcionada sobre COVID-19; el clúster 2, muestra la relación de los estudios que se han realizado sobre la información de la vacuna COVID-19, el clúster 3, analiza las distintas respuestas que dan las teorías conspirativas, los rumores y la desinformación sobre el COVID-19, el grupo 4 muestra investigaciones transversales y longitudinales sobre el COVID-19 y la información que brinda al sector salud, y el clúster 5 representa los estudios sobre producción y comunicación científicas que han contribuido a la salud mundial durante la pandemia(AU)

What did the pandemic teach us about effective health communication? Unpacking the COVID-19 infodemic.

BACKGROUND: The spread of unvetted scientific information about COVID-19 presents a significant challenge to public health, adding to the urgency for increased understanding of COVID-19 information-seeking preferences that will allow for the delivery of evidence-based health communication. This study examined factors associated with COVID-19 information-seeking behavior. METHODS: An online survey was conducted with US adults (N = 1800) to identify key interpersonal (e.g., friends, health care providers) and mediated (e.g., TV, social media) sources of COVID-19 information. Logistic regression models were fitted to explore correlates of information-seeking. RESULTS: Study findings show that the first sought and most trusted sources of COVID-19 information had different relationships with sociodemographic characteristics, perceived discrimination, and self-efficacy. Older adults had greater odds of seeking information from print materials (e.g., newspapers and magazines) and TV first. Participants with less educational attainment and greater self-efficacy preferred interpersonal sources first, with notably less preference for mass media compared to health care providers. Those with more experiences with discrimination were more likely to seek information from friends, relatives, and co-workers. Additionally, greater self-efficacy was related to increased trust in interpersonal sources. CONCLUSION: Study results have implications for tailoring health communication strategies to reach specific subgroups, including those more vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19. A set of recommendations are provided to assist in campaign development.

COVID-19 risk perception framework of the public: an infodemic tool for future pandemics and epidemics.

Understanding the risk perceptions of the public is central for risk communications and infodemic management during emergency and preparedness planning as people's behavior depends on how they perceive the related risks. This qualitative study aimed to identify and describe factors related to COVID-19 risk perceptions of the public in Finland and to make this information readily available to those who communicate with the public during crises. The study is part of a larger project exploring crisis narratives through a mixed-methods approach. The study was based on a dataset of over 10,000 comments on the Facebook and Twitter posts of the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) between March-May 2021. The data were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. The study identified concepts linked with the pandemic risk perception that included knowledge, perceptions, personal experiences, trust, attitudes, and cultural values. The findings resulted in a framework of risk perceptions that can be used as taxonomy and a set of key concepts and keywords in social listening to monitor risk perception during future epidemics and pandemics.

Infodemic of covid-19 and repercussions on the mental health of the elderly from São Paulo.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize and identify depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress associated with the COVID-19 Infodemic in the elderly from São Paulo. METHOD: Exploratory and cross-sectional study with the elderly in the capital of São Paulo who had internet access. The sociodemographic profile, the COVID-19 infodemic, depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 411 older people participated in the study. There was a predominance of women (76.4%), with higher education (57.9%), using private health services, and with little income variation. Older people were more exposed to news or information about COVID-19 on the internet (45.3%), followed by television (34.5%), and radio (11.4%). The average stress was 19.96 points; 33.1% had anxiety, and 39.7% had depressive symptoms. The greater the number of people living with the elderly, the greater the stress (p = 0.001) and anxiety (p = 0.02). The hours of exposure to information on the internet led to stress (p = 0.001), depressive symptoms (p = 0.02), and anxiety (p = 0.02) in the elderly. CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, exposure to information on the internet triggered anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms in the elderly. The findings highlight the need for multi and interdisciplinary interventions to mitigate such repercussions on the elderly's health.

Strengthening scientific credibility against misinformation and disinformation: Where do we stand now?

Health behaviors related to COVID-19 prevention measures, especially vaccination, are used to exemplify mechanisms whereby misinformation and disinformation can spark an "infodemic": a situation in which false information can spread more rapidly and widely than its truthful, science-based counterpart. We define key terminologies and identify potential sources that led to the pandemic infodemic, and highlight the harmful implications of such events. Issues related to scientific communication, how the public perceives information, and factors influencing individuals' decision-making are also discussed. This is the first in a series of two perspective articles on this topic.

Social Media and Medical Misinformation: Confronting New Variants of an Old Problem.

This Viewpoint describes several proposals to mitigate the role of social media in medical misinformation from the ABIM Foundation's 2022 Forum, including algorithmic adjustment, misinformation research and surveillance, and medical professional training and community engagement.

Infodemic Preparedness and COVID-19: Searching about Public Health and Social Measures Is Associated with Digital Health Literacy in University Students.

We aimed to evaluate the associations between information searching about public health and social measures (PHSM) and university students' digital health literacy (DHL) related to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 3,084 Portuguese university students (75.7% females), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5). Sociodemographic data, DHL questionnaire and online information concerning PHSM were gathered. Cox proportional hazards models were performed. RESULTS: Students who searched for personal protective measures achieved in shorter time sufficient "evaluating reliability" (HR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1; 1.7) and "determining relevance" (HR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.2; 1.8). Searching for surveillance and response measures was associated with sufficient "determining relevance" (HR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1; 1.9). Finally, those students who searched for environmental, economic and psychosocial measures achieved in shorter time "determining relevance" (HR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.0; 1.4). CONCLUSIONS: Searching for PHSM was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of achieving sufficient DHL subscales in a shorter time. Further studies are needed, including developing strategies to increase the availability of high-quality information concerning public health and social measures and to improve (digital) health literacy.

What are the historical roots of the COVID-19 infodemic? Lessons from the past

This scoping review explores the history of the term infodemic and its usefulness as a tool for public health policy-making. It presents the information-related problems the term has encompassed; historical research on these problems, which predate the term itself; and in-depth analyses of their iterations in three historical outbreaks with long-term significance for public health policy: the 1918 influenza pandemic, the beginning of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, and the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of scientific practice that inadvertently contributed to the generation of misinformation, as well as other factors that played a role: historical legacies, persistent inequalities and a growing distrust of scientific authority. Historical perspective helps balance contemporary analyses of infodemics that focus too narrowly on the role of new social media in disseminating misinformation and disinformation. Insights derived from the historical record can also be useful to contemporary infodemic management.

The Instagram Infodemic Persists: Extreme Content Escapes Platform's Removal Tactics.

The general cobranding of conspiracy theories and COVID-19 misinformation has been shared at an alarming rate on social media platforms. Instagram has attempted an initiative to flag and/or remove health misinformation and/or disinformation; however, the efficacy of these efforts has been unclear. This study aimed to re-examine 300 posts collected in a previous study evaluating trends in misinformation removal process on Instagram. One hundred eighty-three of 300 original posts remained on the platform, most of which were from the hashtag #hoax. Only one post was flagged for containing false information, despite presence in more than one post. The claims that the platform is removing or flagging misinformation does not align with these findings and amplifies the concern for public safety for Instagram users. Sharing and removal patterns among the 300 posts suggest that conspiracy theorists or those exposed to the inaccurate information may be at higher risk of believing and propagating other unsupported theories.

Pathway linking health information behaviors to mental health condition during the COVID-19 infodemic: A moderated mediation analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak is no longer a pure epidemiological concern but a true digital infodemic. Numerous conflicting information and misinformation occupy online platforms and specifically social media. While we have lived in an infodemic environment for more than 2 years, we are more prone to feel overwhelmed by the information and suffer from long-term mental health problems. However, limited research has concentrated on the cause of these threats, particularly in terms of information processing and the context of infodemic. Objective: This study proposed and tested moderated mediation pathways from two types of health information behaviors (social media engagement and interpersonal communication) on information overload and mental health symptoms-long-term stress. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey between May and June of 2021 among the Malaysian public. The final sample size was 676 (N = 676). A conceptual model was built to guide the data analysis. We conducted structural equation modeling (SEM), moderation and mediation analyses to examine each direct pathway, moderating and mediating effects. Results: According to the pathway analysis, we found that, during the infodemic period, engaging COVID-19 information on social media positively associated with information overload, but interpersonal communication was negatively related to it. As the proximal outcome, there was also a positive association between information overload and the final outcome, perceived stress. The moderation analysis only reported one significant interaction: risk perception weakened the association between social media engagement and information overload. A conditional indirect effect was demonstrated and the indirect associated between social media engagement and perceived stress mediated through information overload was further moderated by COVID-19 risk perception. Conclusion: This research offers new grounds for understanding health information behaviors and their consequences in the COVID-19 infodemic. We particularly highlighted the distinct functions of health information behaviors in causing information overload, as well as the importance of personal health belief in this process. Our proposed model contributes to the strategies of developing health messaging strategies that may be utilized by public health researchers and health educators in the future.