JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Social media has proven valuable for disseminating public health information during pandemics. However, the circulation of misinformation through social media during public health emergencies, such as the SARS, Ebola, and COVID-19 pandemics, has seriously hampered effective responses and has led to negative consequences. Intentional misleading and deceptive fake news aims to harm organizations or individuals. To effectively respond to misinformation, governments should strengthen the management of an "infodemic," which involves monitoring the impacts of infodemics through social listening, detecting signals of infodemic spread, mitigating the harmful effects of infodemics, and strengthening the resilience of individuals and communities. The global spread of misinformation requires multi-sectoral collaboration, such as researchers identifying leading sources of misinformation and super-spreaders, media agencies identifying and debunking misinformation, technology platforms reducing the distribution of false or misleading posts and guiding users to health information from credible sources, and governments disseminating clear public health information in partnership with trusted messengers. Additionally, fact-check has room for improvement by the application of automated check, as well as strengthening collaboration with fact-check, along with effective and timely debunking mechanisms. Though the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body has yet to define the term infodemic, Article 18 of the Bureau‘s text, developed for the Pandemic Accord, encompasses a range of actions aimed at enhancing infodemic management. The INB Bureau continues to facilitate evidence-informed discussion for an implementable Article on infodemic management.