Navigating a rapidly changing information and communication landscape amidst “infodemics”

Effective and timely public health communication is critical for disease prevention, detection, and response. While new communications technologies such as the internet and social media can be leveraged by public health organizations, it relies on the public having a sufficient level of health and digital literacy to access information online and to discern the quality and veracity of the content. Further, the large volume of online content can contribute to public confusion and potentially affect trust in public health information and guidance, especially when confronted with conflicting messages and misinformation. This mass of online information, some of it factual, some rumored, and some misinformation, has been termed an “infodemic”. This chapter discusses how “infodemics” can develop as well as outlines steps to mitigate and manage them in the future. The case study highlights the effective use of social listening to identify and address common public questions, concerns, and misconceptions around COVID-19 vaccines. The chapter concludes by focusing on using social listening to improve understanding of key stakeholders and topics and more quickly identify topics and themes of misinformation and disinformation within the community. It also discusses how organizations can apply this information to create more effective and coordinated offline and digital interventions to counter infodemics, improve health literacy, combat misinformation, and reestablish trust in public health communications to improve global health outcomes.