The Scary Infodemic Around COVID-19

As the U.S. continues to set new records for coronavirus cases, the spread of COVID-19 misinformation is also continuing to reach new heights. While death is of course the ultimate price of the COVID-19 pandemic, it isn’t the only cost. Misinformation about COVID-19 is harming individuals and threatening to overwhelm public health messages.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization announced that the new coronavirus pandemic was accompanied by an ‘infodemic’ of misinformation (WHO 2020). These false narratives about the coronavirus are occurring globally and can spread faster than the virus itself.

Incorrect statements about science, technology, and health are neither new nor unique to the current pandemic. Over the years many health crises were accompanied by a deluge of mis- or disinformation and that has caused serious risk to public health and public action.