One weird old tip 🧚💻
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Learn how to detect deceptive marketing with this “one weird old tip”
Infodemic Management News Flash
Friday 02 December 2022 | Issue #46
Feature art
Deceptive marketing is older than the internet. But now it can use new tricks in the digital domain. As long as people continue to get ill and look for shortcuts to get better quickly or want to maintain their health, there will be people and organizations willing to market and sell to them dubious potions, cures and non-evidence-based wellness services. In the age of the internet, people’s vulnerabilities to deceptive marketing practices can be exploited in what seems to be an unending number of ways. Many of these are also directly used to promote health misinformation.
The European Union portal lays out a useful list of unfair commercial practices that citizens should be aware of and protect themselves from. Some examples include “false claims about cures”, “manipulation of children”, and “ads by social media influencers”. These are the exact same tactics that have been used by the tobacco industry in the past, and the types of tactics that crop up during emergencies and epidemics.
In the infodemic, many different types of information compete for your eyeballs and attention. Everyone knows what it’s like to see too many unwanted pop-up ads, receive spam emails and texts, and links to sponsored content with teasing and worrying statements like “Doctors don’t want you to see this!”. The reason why deceptive marketing continues to perpetuate is because it works.
You can arm yourself against falling for such deceptive marketing practices online by asking yourself a few questions: (1) is there a celebrity endorsement?, (2) are there claims of scarcity or short supply?, (3) does there seem to be a lot of technical language or jargon used?, (4) do you get something free?, (5) does it reference memes or suggest “people like you”?, (6) does it make extraordinary claims?, (7) does it sound “kind-of” scientific?. You can use the University of British Columbia’s “Internet Health Scams: Evaluating the Risk of Deception” tool to score yourself!
PS: If you don’t know what “one weird old tip” means, see the “fun with numbers” section of the News Flash.
Drawing: © WHO/Sam Bradd
Opportunities for action
Call for Applicants: Takemi Program in International Health
The Takemi program in International Health is recruiting mid-career researchers and professionals to spend an academic year at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. The Takemi Program in International Health was established in 1983 out of interests to promote the development and equitable distribution of health care through interdisciplinary collaboration. The Takemi Program provides participants with the space, time, and flexibility to enhance their capacity for research and leadership. This is a great opportunity to advance the field of infodemic management in international health and your career as an infodemic manager.
To find out more about the program and how to apply, it’s here.
Call for Papers: Data for Epidemic Preparedness and Containment Policy
Data & Policy - a peer-reviewed open access journal published by Cambridge University Press in association with the Data for Policy Conference - is calling for contributions to a special collection of papers on 'Data for Epidemic Preparedness and Containment Policy: data informed intervention for public health’. This collection will look directly at the interplay between data and policy to design evidence-based epidemic emergency responses. This is an opportunity for those who have been using quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate, diagnose and intervene on harms from the infodemic.
To read the call for papers and submissions guidelines, it’s here. The deadline for submission is 1 May 2023.
Call for Proposals: European Research Council (ERC) Science Journalism Initiative
The ERC wishes to support an organisation or a consortium of organisations to set up a funding scheme that would facilitate 3-5-month stays of journalists at research institutions. Traditional media organisations around the world are in crisis and journalism has become a precarious occupation. Even though digital disruption resulted in innovative ways of reporting news and engaging audiences, including in science news, journalism has frequently suffered in Europe’s small markets, divided along linguistic borders. The purpose of these funding opportunities is to give journalists opportunities to learn and work on in-depth reporting projects by immersing themselves in the research environment and interacting with scientists and scholars. This is a great opportunity for anyone also interested in infodemiology and its interface with journalism and science reporting.
To read the call for proposals and submissions guidelines, it’s here. The deadline for submission is 15 December 2022.
Multimedia
PNAS Science Sessions Podcast: The Science of Misinformation
Science Sessions, the podcast of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, connects the public with Academy members, researchers, and policymakers to explore the stories behind the science. This episode provides three perspectives from sociologists, communicators and psychologists on strategies for countering misinformation. The invited guests are: Nicole Krause explains how misinformation operates on multiple levels, from individual psychology to societal structures. Ethan Porter discusses the efficacy of fact checks. Michael Dahlstrom explains how narratives can enhance the spread of misinformation. Baruch Fischhoff outlines his advice for effectively communicating scientific ideas to the public. Lisa Fazio describes the effects of repetition and knowledge neglect and potential strategies for countering them. Lindsay Juarez has worked with the social media platform TikTok on reducing the reach of potentially inaccurate information on the platform. Scott Ruston explains why addressing the challenge of mis- and disinformation will require a combination of social and technological strategies. Carl Bergstrom explains why certain aspects of the modern scientific process are vulnerable to potentially spreading misinformation.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or the PNAS website.
Job opportunities
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Data Communication and Visualization Specialist (Switzerland)
- WHO National Consultant - Infodemic Management (Egypt)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Digital Insight and Optimization Officer (Spain)
- Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) National Research Consultant (Ukraine)
- Internews Network Humanitarian Information Manager, Rooted in Trust Sudan (Remote)
- Internews Network Information Management Officer, Rooted in Trust Haiti (Remote)
- Internews Network Madagascar: Researcher, Rooted in Trust (Remote)
- WHO Consultant - Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) (Multiple destinations)
WHO Consultant, Communications for Health (C4H) (Philippines)
Upcoming Events
The #Data4COVID19 Review Webinar: Assessing the Use of Non-Traditional Data During a Pandemic Crisis
On 2 December 2022, The GovLab, with the support of The Knight Foundation, will hold a webinar on an in-depth study about how non-traditional data sources have been used during COVID-19. The webinar will include a presentation by The GovLab’s Stefaan Verhulst about how non-traditional health, mobility, economic, and sentiment data were used during COVID-19 and lessons learned from around the world. This work has been conducted over the last 8 months as part of the #Data4COVID Review and is an opportunity for infodemic managers to explore how non-traditional data initiatives can be used in emergency response.
To find out more and register, it’s here.
WHO and Story Collider: Public health practitioners recount their experience of the COVID-19 infodemic: Second edition
The infodemic has affected health professionals personally and professionally and changed the way health systems have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 December 2022, WHO will showcase 3 French speaking Infodemic Managers to tell their own personal experiences about managing the Infodemic during the time of COVID-19. The event will be in French, is free and will be brought to you in partnership with The Story Collider to promote science and health through more effective storytelling.
To find out more and register for the event, it’s here.
What we're reading
Fun with numbers
Know your history - Late 2000s …
... is the time period when the “one weird old tip” became pervasive on the internet. This deceptive marketing ad is a form of clickbait that was first used online to advertise weight loss products and later hair loss products and diabetes treatments.
In fact, WHO Member States as early as 1998 passed the Resolution EB101.R3 recognizing the increasing importance of the Internet and its potential to impact health through the advertising and promotion of medical products, in its resolution on “Cross-border advertising, promotion and sale of medical products through the Internet”. As the internet, digital media and social platforms evolved, these practices became more pervasive and harmful, paving the way for misinformation vulnerabilities and spread as well.
If you want to go down an enjoyable meme rabbit hole – go to Google Scholar and search for papers that reference the “one weird trick” meme.
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 a 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.
