With the threat of the third wave of the coronavirus increasing by the day, it is becoming equally important to fight not only the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the accompanying infodemic that is contributing to it. A World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution has since recorded that the infodemic management is key to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The infodemic of both online and offline excessive information, including misinformation, disinformation and malinformation, is compromising public health response and in some cases seeking to promote vested interests. The impact varies depending upon whether it is misinformation, which is false, but harmless information; disinformation, which is false and harmful information shared knowingly; or malinformation, which is correct information shared to cause harm.
Irrespective of the categorisation, the infodemic is making it more challenging to fight the pandemic. The common harm excessive information does is to cause confusion and make it difficult to take correct decisions in a timely fashion, which can prove fatal at times. At times, it can also cause mental health conditions, including anxiety. The infodemic is a global phenomenon and includes information ranging from global conspiracy theories about artificial creation of the coronavirus to rumours in India about the vaccine causing infertility.
While large global initiatives have been launched to fight the pandemic, the impact of the infodemic is sought to be neutralised by side initiatives strong on intent and modest in action. The UN Secretary- General has put in place a United Nations Communications Response initiative recommending production and dissemination of facts and accurate information in partnership with media and social media majors.
Dissemination of accurate information also calls for matching actions at the ground level. For example, promotion of benefits of vaccination has to be supported with provision of vaccines at the ground level. In cases of local shortage of vaccines, advance alerts to the neighbourhood will retain trust of citizens in the system rather than contribute to vaccine hesitancy.
The WHO has been engaging with social media majors like Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube to check fake news. Despite their modest scale, any positive results are particularly important for India with 53 crore users of WhatsApp, 44.8 crore users of YouTube, 41 crore users of Facebook and 1.5 crore users of Twitter.
Similarly, national, media and civil society fact-checking initiatives have been launched. Such initiatives are very highly needed, given the trust deficit in the media. Majority (62%) of English news consumers in India don’t trust the news they read or watch, according to the ‘Digital News Report 2021’ brought out by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
It is time to join the dots of small dispersed initiatives of fake news checkers to mount a large response proportional to the challenge of the infodemic to fight the virus. Replicating and scaling up good practices are low-hanging fruits.
Beginning with basics, there is a need for authentic information from a credible source instead of a battery of ministers, bureaucrats, scientists and doctors as seen on prime-time television in India. It is high time that authorities call upon public health experts to play their mandated key role.
While our learning about the virus is work in progress and sharing of new learnings in real time and their implementation are, of course, necessary to fight the virus, but at the same time it is necessary to make full public disclosure quoting sources to get a dynamic buy-in from key stakeholders like citizens.
A recent global conference organised by the WHO on science communication during health emergencies, too, dwelled on communicating scientific uncertainty. The concluding observations included the following three learnings. Honest communication of uncertainty ensures that people keep trust in evolving scientific evidences leading to updating of public health recommendations. Dialogue with local communities to disseminate useful, intelligible and credible information is important. There is a need to use innovation and creativity for effective science communication factoring in the fact people partake of information in various formats through different channels at different times of the day.
The last learning is a good reminder to India that disproportionate focus on dissemination through television is not a solution to make up for lack of adequate communication through other mediums.
Similarly, communication through local community influencers like representatives of Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Nigrani Samitis, Mohalla Samiti and Resident Welfare Associations can be a gamechanger. There are already examples of some local faith leaders playing a proactive role in promoting vaccination.
Going further, the government of India’s ‘Covid-19 Vaccine Communication Strategy’ has already laid down a road map for capacity building of local influencers in social mobilisation at national, state, district and block levels. The strategy also stipulates adherence to standard communication protocols by healthcare personnel ranging from medical officers to frontline workers.
Since the coronavirus has triggered a health emergency as well as an information avalanche, it needs to be fought on both fronts simultaneously with a need-based response. Complementing vaccination with curative medicines may be a matter of time-consuming cutting-edge research, but fighting the infodemic is primarily a matter of political will being open to putting transparent mechanisms in place guarded by checks and balances and rallying key stakeholders, particularly public health professionals, for the cause. It is not a big ask considering the unending threat from the coronavirus.
Source: The Times of India
Published on 19 July 2021