New policy documents, infodemic funding, upcoming conferences and much more.
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Infodemic Management News Flash
Thursday 22 July 2021 | Issue #18
Feature Artwork
While there has been less sitting around a table and more gathering virtually this past year, this image highlights the importance of working in partnership for infodemic management. Since early last year, WHO has been working with partners worldwide to grow the discipline of infodemic management, and it is heartening to see recent policy and action announcements.
Last month the European Commission released Guidance on Strengthening the Code of Practice on Disinformation. The guide seeks to address gaps and shortcomings in digital communication to create a more transparent, safe, and trustworthy online environment. And this month, the US Surgeon General released a new report on 'Confronting Health Misinformation', which identifies key areas of action for a whole-of-society approach.
In support of these efforts, the Rockefeller Foundation announced a $13.5 million funding commitment towards fighting COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation. Funding will support a range of interventions, tools, and research to build trust in COVID-19 vaccination efforts and counter inaccurate information.
Working in partnership is vital for effective infodemic management, and our growing global community of practice is a significant strength. Whether around a table or virtually, we need to keep working together and invite others to join the WHO call to action for managing the infodemic.
Image credit: Sam Bradd
Opportunities for Action
Call for Papers: Pandemic and Infodemics: A Manual for the Future
Call for papers for the 'Pandemic and Infodemics: A Manual for the Future' project. A collaboration between Science & Society HUB and Big Data in Health Society, papers are sought on a range of areas including economic, social and ethical implications of pandemics and infodemics, global prevention research and health policies, and information and communication of the emergency and risk. Lots of scope for infodemic research and projects! The deadline for submitting abstracts is July 31, 2021.
Call for Papers: Teaching and Learning about Misinformation and Disinformation
The Journal of Information and Learning Sciences, Emerald Publishing, has issued a call for papers for a special issue focussed on 'Teaching and Learning about Misinformation and Disinformation'. They are interested in papers addressing theories, methods, research findings, or frameworks for action in teaching practices, across a wide range of disciplines and domains. Education and training for the infodemic was identified as a key action point in the WHO public health research agenda for managing infodemics and we are looking forward to learning about the different ways people have been working to effectively communicate on this important topic. Submission deadline is 31 August.
Call for abstracts: Society for Public Health Education
The Society for Public Health Education will hold its 73rd Annual Conference in March 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. The theme for 2022 is ‘Health Education: The ARCH of an Era: Accelerating the Recovery of Communities and Health requires innovation, collaboration, and systems-level approaches that are inclusive, anti-racist, and equitable for all.’
The educational tracks include lots of scope for infodemic papers and research, including policy and systems change, program implementation and dissemination, and interprofessional practice. Abstracts are due 26 July 2021.
11th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Task Force for Global Health have announced the 11th International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Held every 2–3 years, the conference brings together more than 1500 public health professionals from around the world to encourage the exchange of the latest information on issues affecting the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases.
In 2022, there is a new infodemiology stream (look for: Infodemiology and Emerging Infections under Policy, Preparedness, and Emergency Response). Time for thinking caps and links to the WHO public health research agenda for managing infodemics.
The conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in March 2022. Abstract submissions are open now and close on the 1st October.
Implementation Research on COVID-19 Vaccine rollout in African Union Member States
The Africa CDC, African Union, and the Mastercard Foundation invite proposals from partners to provide services to support implementation research in relation to the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in African Union Member States. Of course managing the infodemic is a key part of any successful emergency immunization programme. Submission deadline is 30 July 2021.
Job Opportunities
- WHO: Coordinator: Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (Kenya, Nairobi)
- WHO: Social Listening Analyst (Kenya, Nairobi)
- UNICEF: Digital Communication Manager: Infodemics & Misinformation Management (United States)
- UNICEF: Senior Communication Manager (Islamabad, Pakistan)
- CDC Foundation: Communication Specialist (United States)
- DIA: Digital Trust and Cybersecurity Specialist (London, England)
- WHO: Technical Officer: Data Management (Geneva, Switzerland)
- UNICEF: Communication Officer (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
- Rockefeller Foundation: Regional Media and Communications consultant (Remote, based in Asia)
Multimedia
Watch Ann Mumbi Ngengere from Viral Facts Africa, and lecturer for the 2nd WHO global Infodemic Management training talking about verifying health information during an infodemic on Spice FM Kenya.
Upcoming Events
Understanding the Spread of Misinformation & Disinformation in Canada | August 19 2021
Impact Hub Ottawa host a series of lunch-time discussions on important topics. An upcoming session focuses on understanding how misinformation and disinformation spreads in Canada and how to manage it.
Find out more and register here
INFODEMIC: A Stanford Conference on Social Media and COVID-19 Misinformation | August 26 2021
Stanford is hosting a free conference in August bringing together experts from the fields of biomedical ethics, public health, cyber policy’s well as representatives from social media companies, popular blog sites, and the public. The conference is aiming to establish an ethical mandate to address vaccine disinformation, best practices for conducting a vaccine safety campaign on social media, improved public confidence in vaccine safety, and a prioritized research agenda to sustain future work on this topic.
Find out more and register here
Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference | September 14 2021
The third Digital Inclusion, Policy and Research Conference (DIPRC) will feature scholars and practitioners discussing digital inclusion, digital divides and data literacy during the pandemic. The conference will focus on the recent global developments influenced by the pandemic in research, policy, and practice including on misinformation and digital literacy.
MISDOOM Symposium | September 21-22 2021
The Multidisciplinary International Symposium on Disinformation in Open Online Media (MISDOOM) symposium on misinformation in online media returns for a 3rd edition. Co-hosted by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Universiteit Utrecht, topics include health misinformation, hate speech, misinformation diffusion, news spreading behaviour and mitigation, harm-aware news recommender systems, and related topics on misinformation in online media. The symposium brings together researchers from multiple disciplines, including communication science, computer science, computational social science, political communication, journalism and media studies, as well as practitioners in journalism and online media.
Recent Events
Fact-checking COVID-19: joint unCoVer & PHIRI workshop
Recordings are now available for the 'Fact-checking COVID-19: joint unCoVer & PHIRI' workshop that was held on the 30th of June. The workshop presented key contemporary topics on communicating science, and introduced the FakeNews Immunity chatbot.
Access the recordings here
Human Rights Communicators Explore How to Tackle Disinformation
The public panel debate of the recent Human Rights Communicators Network on disinformation is now available to view online. The panel involved a range of expert speakers discussing the impact of disinformation on human rights, as well as ways human rights communicators can effectively tackle disinformation.
Read more about the debate here
Access the recordings here
Medicine, Media and Misinformation
Stanford University School of Medicine recently hosted a two part training series. The sessions aimed to equip scientists and healthcare providers with communication tools and strategies to effectively counter COVID-19 health misinformation, recognize disease disinformation, build trust with communities who are most vulnerable to false health news, and work effectively with journalists to share impactful and accurate health messaging about COVID-19 transmission, treatments and vaccine candidates. Both sessions are available online.
Watch Part 1 here
Watch Part 2 here
DW Global Media Forum
The Global Media Forum took place on the 14th and 15th of June and brought together leaders from around the world to discuss the theme of ‘Disruption and Innovation’. Over a series of presentations, speakers discussed social media, political communication, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Of particular interest to infodemic managers will be discussions on conspiracy theories and fake news, including how media can regain and maintain trust.
What We're Reading
Fun With Numbers
Listening to people's questions and concerns is important for health authorities to be able to adapt their COVID-19 response to the changing needs of communities because public health is ultimately a collaborative endeavour.
The WHO Early AI-supported Response with Social Listening tool (EARS) COVID-19 observatory shows daily trends in how people are talking about COVID-19 online. This tool helps infodemic managers detect emerging concerns and information voids sooner before those vacuums are filled with misinformation, to better tailor response activities for greater impact.
The EARS pilot was launched 15 December 2021, and is tracking 39 COVID-19 categories across 20 countries and 4 different languages. The platform has analysed 34,207,511 posts (and counting!).
There are plans to add more countries and languages soon. Click here to explore the EARS dashboard and see which topics are on the rise.
About the News Flash
An infodemic is an overabundance of information—some accurate, some not—that spreads alongside a disease outbreak. Infodemics are nothing new, but in the digital age, they spread in real time and create a breeding ground for uncertainty. Uncertainty fuels skepticism and distrust, which is perfect environment for fear, anxiety, finger-pointing, stigma, violent aggression and dismissal of proven public health measures. To manage an infodemic, we need to understand what contributes to it. So that’s why we’re sending you these updates. In each issue of the WHO’s Infodemic Management News Flash we’ll share the latest work happening at the global level, as well as highlight some of the challenges and solutions with infodemics in local contexts. We’ll also provide you with a few takeaways to help you be an effective infodemic manager in your daily life.
If you have a tip on infodemic management or an idea for a future News Flash, email us at infodemicmanagement@who.int. Thanks for joining us on this journey.
