Social science approaches to infodemiology: understanding the social, political, and economic context of information

Embedded within the COVID-19 pandemic is the spread of a new pandemic of information – some accurate, some not – that can challenge the public health response. This has been termed an ‘infodemic’ and infodemic management is now a major feature of the World Health Organization’s work on health emerge...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global health promotion 2022-09, Vol.29 (3), p.140-144
Main Authors: Cole, Jennifer, Tulloch, Olivia, Schmidt-Sane, Megan, Hrynick, Tabitha, Ripoll, Santiago
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Behavior Change
Communications
Community Relations
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Economic factors
Economics
Epidemics
False information
Health Services
Immunization
Inferences
Leaders
Mass Media
Misinformation
Pandemics
Politics
Presidents
Public health
Research Methodology
Science
Scientists
Social Media
Social networks
Social Science Research
Social sciences
Social Scientists
Trust
Trust (Psychology)
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Summary:Embedded within the COVID-19 pandemic is the spread of a new pandemic of information – some accurate, some not – that can challenge the public health response. This has been termed an ‘infodemic’ and infodemic management is now a major feature of the World Health Organization’s work on health emergencies. This commentary highlights political, social, and economic aspects of infodemics and posits social science as critical to mitigating the current infodemic and preventing future ones. Infodemic managers should address the wider context of infodemics if we are to understand narratives, help to craft positive ones, and confront the root causes of misinformation rather than just the symptoms.
ISSN:1757-9759
1757-9767
DOI:10.1177/17579759211073174