Media and information literacy for developing resistance to ‘infodemic’: lessons to be learnt from the binge of misinformation during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by the spurt of misinformation, which was termed as ‘infodemic’ and ‘disinfodemic’, swaying the health decisions of the populace. There was the binge of bizarre information which putatively intensified the coronavirus and consequent fatalities due to relying on false information. The overview provides essence of infodemic during COVID-19 situation, mainly actuated through social media platforms. The absence of au courant media and information literacy skills amongst masses as they were unable to extricate the trustworthy information from the substantial available information they were accessing on their gadgets, underpins the need for immediate action to curtail any further infodemic. Literature accessed from the Internet was documented, analyzed, and compiled. The splurge of misinformation during COVID-19 pandemic, bizarre instances of infodemic, efforts of social media platforms to curb it, need for strengthening media and information literacy of folks and role of libraries and educational institutions in accomplishing this have been discussed. The prevalent milieu necessitates the need for empowering folks with media and information literacy skills for developing critical thinking skills amongst them for managing any future outflow of misinformation.

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic media and information literacy misinformation

Introduction

The upkeep and ingenious utilization of the wealth of health is contingent to veracious health information. In the rampant Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) driven arena, the Internet has emerged as the major source for hunting health information. In the United States, 80% of the adult people seek information pertaining to various health issues online (Szmuda et al., 2020) because of prolonged appointment schedules. The ‘easier accessibility and no wait time’ of information on health concerns is prompting millions of Internet users in country like India also to surf it in the virtual mode (Indian Express, 2018).

The catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic brought the galore to screeching stop and lead to impulsive changes in virtually every compass of the world. During this predicament situation, apropos health and fitness had been of concern to all, while remaining confined at homes. The COVID-19 situation has been accompanied by the flood of disinformation, influencing the health decisions of people. The World Health Organization (WHO) termed this as ‘Infodemic’ (WHO, 2020c). Andrew Pattison, Digital Business Solutions Manager, WHO went on to say that the misinformation was spreading even faster than the virus itself (Thomas, 2020). This disturbance in information ecosystem of the world has put the people amidst sea of information/disinformation escalating and the stress caused due to COVID-19 pandemic. The UNESCO has labeled the massive information explosion during prevailing scenario as ‘disinfodemic’ (UNESCO, 2020). The misinformation/disinformation generally refers to the content(s) which are not true and/or is misleading, having potentially fatal consequences. The crux of the problem provoked the WHO to organize first Infodemiology Conference from 29 June to 21 July 2020 (in virtual mode), to identify, adapt, develop, evaluate, and validate the evidence-based tools and measures to understand, measure, and control infodemics (WHO, 2020a). The Secretary General of United Nations Organization, Mr. M Antonio Guterres attributed the massive infodemic for cavorting as the protagonist for further excavation of the crevices caused by COVID-19 pandemic, altogether worldwide (United States, 2020). The disinformation spread may be intentional or unintentional, organized or unorganized, purposeful or casual. Posetti and Bontcheva (2020) have identified the nine key themes of the disinfodemic during emergent COVID crises, viz. origins and spread of COVID-19 disease; symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment; false and misleading statistics; impacts on society and the environment; economic impacts; discrediting of journalists, and credible news outlets; politicization; content driven by fraudulent financial gains and celebrity-focused disinformation. Thus, flow of disinformation embarks to affect the diverse information user groups.

Like pandemic, it is difficult to entirely eradicate infodemic, albeit, it can be managed and its’ effect can be neutralized. In this pursuit, the media and information literacy skills can be the major determinants for developing resistance/immunity to the infodemic detriments.

Extreme and bizarre misinformation instances during COVID-19 crises

While information primes to empowerment, misinformation putatively can lead to adverse situation(s). Moreover, misinformation travels at lightning spread, which creates uncertainty about reliable or unreliable information which is not warranted. COVID-19 pandemic witnessed proliferation of bizarre and baseless claims to prevent/cure coronavirus, prompting information chaotic milieu.

Indian politician(s) claimed drinking of cow urine and application of cow dung on the body to cure COVID-19 (Mallick, 2021; Sharma, 2021; World Asia, 2020), though the scientist(s) alerted against consumption of cow dung as it could lead to transmission of zoonotic disease(s). Union Health Minister, Government of India also suggested to avoid such statement(s) lacking scientific basis (Shayiq, 2020). Similarly, in Middle-East, drinking of camel urine was vouched, following which the WHO cautioned against this to avoid contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2-like species of betacoronavirus (WHO, 2020b).

Brazil witnessed the wide-spread of dubious and bizarre strategies to cure coronavirus like use of aspirin dissolved in hot honey, use of cotton seeds and wormseed with honey, consumption of avocado and pineapple, beans with magical powers, etc. The use of hydroxychloroquine was also endorsed by President Jair Bolsonaro like his counterpart of United States, Donald Trump, though not supported by scientific evidences about its’ effectiveness (Slattery, 2020).

Twenty people lost lives in Istanbul after consuming rubbing alcohol tendering to protect themselves against COVID-19 and many were admitted to intensive care. Though, it drew mockery over social media, Abdurrahman Dilipak, the popular columnist, advocated consumption of cannabis to cure coronavirus. He further suggested that any future vaccine may be laced with a sterilization agent to expurgate population growth. Eating of sheeps’ head soup called ‘kelle paca corbasi’ in Turkey was propagated to have remedial properties against coronavirus (The National, 2020).

In Lucknow (India), a self-proclaimed astrologer was arrested by the police, after the pictures of pamphlets that he distributed, having mantra (magical verse) claiming to cure COVID-19 went viral on social media (National Herald, 2020). Within the first 4 months of pandemic, more than 300 people were arrested in nearly 40 countries, on account of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 (Mantas, 2020). Many deceitful, unverified, and weird product(s) encompassing ‘Virus Shut Out Protection’ pendants and ‘anti-coronavirus’ mattress were also propagated to fight coronavirus (Khan, 2020; Nair, 2020). Owing to resemblance in appearance of the poisonous fruit of the datura plant to coronavirus virion, it was claimed to have remedial properties against COVID-19 (The News Minute, 2020). Recipes with cocktails of ingredient(s) viz. lemon grass, ginger, black pepper, honey, lemon, etc. were also promoted globally as a protection shield/cure for COVID-19. A series of post(s) went viral in the name of UNICEF with false claims that sunshine could kill coronavirus and one should avoid ice-cream to prevent COVID-19 (Reuters, 2020). Incorrect claims on social media that gargling with salt water, drinking hot liquids, and avoiding ice-cream may prevent coronavirus transmission invited stern criticism from health professionals.

Misinformation versus disinformation

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw an alarming increase in false information in two forms viz. misinformation and disinformation. Although these two words are related and frequently used interchangeably, the intent delineates them. Misinformation is incorrect information that is circulated or spread without any intent to mislead the receiver/user. Resultantly, it can be defined as information that is false but not necessarily intentionally false. Disinformation, on the other hand, is the use of false and/or misleading information for a specific purpose, most often to achieve political goals. It is an intentional distortion of the information that makes it more deceitful. Thus, disinformation is wrong information that is misleading and/or biased in order to manipulate the community. This reverse concocted information is more perilous as it is created and spread with the intent of deceiving and misguiding others and/or to harm the reputation of a specific person, organization, and/or government (Carlos, 2021; Gebel, 2021; The Conversation, 2021).

The spread of false information during the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit referendum (2016) demonstrates how it was used to influence people for political gain. ‘Misleading tweets, dodgy maths, deceptively-framed narratives and outright lies have seeped into the groundwater of social media, poisoning public discourse as Britain continues to navigate a path out of the European Union’ (First Draft, 2019). The case(s) of missing context, unauthentic and unexplained financial obligation, supreme court judges opposing and in favor of Brexit, ‘disaster capitalism’ narrative, fictitious publisher selling notebooks on the issue through Amazon, circulation of fake images and videos, misquoting of official report(s), fake infrared images are the examples of disturbance caused in information ecosystem during Brexit referendum (First Draft, 2019). According to a 2017 study conducted by the University of California Berkeley and Swansea University in Wales, there were 156,252 Russian Twitter accounts that mentioned #Brexit, including one, Svetal 1972 which posted 92 tweets between June 20 and 24, including one calling for Britain to ‘make June the 23rd our Independence Day’. (Reuters Staff, 2017). Cambridge Analytica, a London-based political consultancy, collected data from millions of Facebook accounts without the users’ knowledge to influence voters choices at ballot box and assisted US President Donald Trump’s election campaign (Cadwalladr and Graham-Harrison, 2018). Government inaction on online misinformation/disinformation and digital ad regulations pushed social networking platforms to launch campaigns against false information, including Facebook opening a war room to quickly respond to election hoaxes, Twitter banning political ads, and Google cracking down on bogus videos on YouTube (Klepper and Kirka, 2019).

Many Library and Information Science (LIS) Schools imparting degree and doctorate programs in LIS have included the MIL as component of their course curriculum, so that library and information professionals may strengthen the analytical skills of respective users to examine the authenticity, reliability, currency, accuracy, and relevance of information before its utilization. Research to examine the flow of false information needs to be undertaken. However, collection of data from social networking platforms is a tough job, as these rarely provide data to misinformation researchers (Pasquetto et al., 2020).

Social media

The COVID-19 pandemic witnessed exchange of information at an astonishing pace, all because of information and communication technologies, especially by dint of social media platforms. Such platforms not only facilitated the access of information on the various issues related to pandemic, but also appeared to be remedial for maintaining the connectivity of people who were secluded to their places to curb the menace/spread of virus, reducing their isolation and boredom. Social media has the advantage of rapid dissemination of educational content, which could be pivotal in creating awareness amongst masses about various symptoms of disease and/or preventive measures to curb its’ spread. This played a paramount role in helping to plateau the curve of COVID-19 by endorsing maintenance of social distancing and imparting education about basic measures to curb the spread of virus viz. washing of hands, wearing mask, avoiding to touch face, etc. On the other hand, the electronic media have also served as a fertile ground for binge of misinformation about spread of virus, cure remedies, hues about political conspiracies and bio-terrorism, etc.

The prevalent social media platforms adopted various measures to provide authentic information to users in pandemic. Facebook having 2.5 billion users globally, started working in close collaboration with more than 60 fact-checking organizations at regional level, reviewing and rating of content with respect to its authenticity in more than fifty languages, on a global scale (Perry, 2020). Prioritizing newsfeed favoring more credible news, encouraging users to help by flagging of suspicious posts, etc. were other commendable efforts of Facebook to handle the spread of misinformation through it. WhatsApp in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, and UNDP launched Coronavirus Information Hub (UNDP, 2020). WHO also launched a chatbot on WhatsApp to sensitize folks about COVID-19 risks. Google funded USD 6.5 million to support fact-checkers to ensure flow of trustworthy information (Business Standard, 2020). Instagram prioritized its’ feeds algorithm backing credible information sources and also banned augmented reality effects pertaining to COVID-19 crises. ‘Stay Home Stickers’ and ‘browse Instagram with friends over video chat’ have been the initiatives of Instagram to encourage people to stay at home (Chacon, 2020; Instagram, 2020). Twitter banned the tweets likely to have impact on spread of coronavirus. Similarly, YouTube removed more than half a million videos containing misinformation pertaining to COVID-19 (Nieva, 2021). Andrew Pattison stated the situation as an opportunity for the social media firms to rethink on how they handled misinformation and added further that ‘what would be very exciting is to see this emergency changed into a long-term sustainable model, where we can have responsible content on these platforms’ (Thomas, 2020).

The social media also provided a platform for the research collaboration(s) and supported health education through online programs/webinars, both in live vis-à-vis recorded mode or hybrid modes. However, on the other hand the most disastrous aspect had been dissemination of flawed, panicky, and embellished information, resultantly causing fear, stress, and anxiety amongst masses.

Strengthening media and information literacy competencies

Public health awareness is indispensable for curbing the rate of spread of a pandemic and to enable people to keep themselves and their near and dear one’s in good state of health. But, when people get enormous information at blistering pace from multiple sources, which is bewildering, and find it difficult to decide which information is trustworthy, the realization of goal of public health awareness is put at stake. However, even in such a baffling situation, information and media literates are able to plunge through epic information and segregate relevant only, setting aside unsolicited contents.

Both, media literacy and information literacy are concerted as hand and glove approach. While, information literacy encompasses the competencies related to access, evaluation, and use of information, media literacy is associated with ability to understand, evaluate, and use media for salvaging germane information. The holistic information access approach is fragmentary without media. Attributing to the inseparability characteristic of these literacies, the UNESCO referred these together as ‘Media Information Literacy’ (MIL) (UNESCO, 2019). MIL ‘teaches the global public to evaluate available information-including that provided by both formal and informal media-about the world’s needs; to make sense of the solutions that are on offer; and to be able to communicate and engage with others proportionately and responsibly’ (Moeller et al., 2011). Thus, it is aimed at strengthening one’s capabilities to adapt with information and media systems including techno-enabled, to develop amongst learners critical thinking and lifelong learning skills, for using it in an ethical way, for developing information and knowledge enriched society for the global prosperity. The UNESCO and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) have been continually endorsing MIL to prepare folks for knowledge society.

The COVID-19 pandemic crises have invited the global attention toward strengthening of MIL competencies of folks to mitigate the impact of misinformation, by cultivating amongst them the critical thinking skills. In prevailing tech-driven arena, when the whole world is reflected on the small screen of gadget(s) of the user(s), it is imperative to inculcate the MIL skills since early age and improve it over the period in view of emergent needs and exposures, so that they may learn to explore, access, analyze, utilize, create, and engage with information channels in various forms and formats. In this globally escalating demand for MIL, scarcity of trained people to teach such skills is a critical issue, as MIL could not find place in general education program(s). In such scenario, libraries and Library and Information Science Professionals (LISPs) can contribute explicitly, as they are well versed with information, different forms of media, and its access and evaluation strategies. To curb the spread of misinformation, Kazuhiro (2020) suggested a five-point checklist for adjudging the trustworthiness of content(s).

Public libraries can play a vital role in imparting MIL skills amongst the users, as this is seen as a logical extension of formerly called bibliographic instruction or user education program(s) (Harding, 2008). Strategically developed MIL program(s) taking in its’ ambit homogenous groups of users would be pivotal, as effectiveness of a uniform program for divergent users would be a challenging model to work with. Creation of ‘Friends of Library Groups’, ‘Human Libraries’, linking of MIL program(s) with festivities, etc. can be tactical for empowering MIL capabilities of users. In prevalent multifaceted information environment, MIL programs need to be introduced from school level educational programs. It could be introduced as part of curriculum for honing up the critical thinking skills of pupil at early age, which may further be revitalized with the growth of children. The school libraries and librarians can have an important role in this, as school library is a place where students are first introduced to the world of information and knowledge and reading habits are inculcated amongst them. It is the component of educational setup where students learn to hunt for right information with support of LISPs. A collaborative approach between teacher(s) and librarian(s) is need of the hour to complement each other in MIL course implementation.

In higher education institutions, viz. colleges and universities, the MIL skills of learners may further be sharpened up to develop them as responsible citizens capable of making their own decisions based on the information and knowledge they access and utilize in their pursuits. The Universities need to introduce and propagate MIL professional development course(s) for teachers and librarians, so that they may strengthen their skills with necessary strategies about selection and evaluation of media to get reliable information and may further impart such skills to students in respective academic institutions. UNESCO’s has provided ‘Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers’ to prepare teachers and librarians for imparting MIL to students which can be used as a model curriculum with local adaptations to suit prevailing information scenario, for better comprehension of information.

Collaboration amongst MIL stakeholders viz. faculty in Library and Information Science, Education and Mass Media and Communication and concerned external actors is basic to the success of MIL programs. In universal techo-arena, particularly augmented by COVID-19 situation, online MIL programs would have safer and wider reach overshadowing geographical constraints. Such activities need to be encouraged as participants would be able to learn at their own convenience. Moreover, this would facilitate the in-service participants to work and study, concurrently.

Inequalities between developed and developing world

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world, particularly developing countries experienced an increase in misinformation and anecdotal reports. There are numerous whys and wherefores that could be attributed to this. The developing countries, which lack basic amenities for nationals, face a slew of developmental challenges, the most pressing of which is ensuring natives’ bread and butter. While they continue to strive to eradicate poverty, digital technologies for accessing, evaluating, and utilizing information remain out of reach for the common people of such countries. Financial insecurity also allows people to disregard scientific advice and instead rely on misinformation and/or disinformation which is more easily available. With the advent and propagation of social media, misinformation/disinformation might be equally available in both densely and less densely populated areas. People across the globe have sentiments for religious beliefs and/or community leaders, who have a high level of credibility amongst their followers/admirers. Misinterpretation of scientific facts on their part is likely to influence followers’ health-promoting behavior (Coetzee and Kagee, 2020), influencing their acceptability of information regardless of its reliability. Various developed countries have taken concrete steps toward national information empowerment by enacting Media Literacy/Media and Information Literacy policies/guidelines. The European Union has EuroMeduc, a European exchange network for media literacy, which has provided the platform for scholarly exchange of views on this subject through congresses (EuroMeduc, 2009). On the other hand, in the developing world, even basic literacy for all has not been achieved.

Hindrances in success of MIL programs

International organizations’ initiatives to promote Media and Information Literacy have been marred by a variety of bottlenecks in the developing world. We cannot talk about Media and Information Literacy unless we have adequate skills in using latest digital technologies to access information. The growing digital divide between and within countries and institutions has been the most significant impediment to the success of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) initiatives in this ICT-driven arena. The access to digital technologies gap is even wider in rural areas, where a large portion of the population is illiterate and/or facing financial hardship. Unless and until the digital divide is abridged by collective efforts of various organizations, the MIL initiatives will struggle to yield desired results.

MIL has become part of school curricula in various countries as ‘Educators have discovered that media and information literacy is essential and an effective and engaging way to apply critical thinking skills to a wide range of topics’ (Braesel and Karg, 2018). The developing countries are lagging behind in this direction. In fact, the concept of media information literacy is still relatively new in many countries. Political insecurity also stifles people’s empowerment efforts, as political factions are more concerned with retaining power than with other critical issues. Intransigent institutional cultures also make it difficult to incorporate MIL into course curriculum. Furthermore, the research capacity for investigating the negative impact of misinformation/disinformation on Media and Information Literacy is insufficient, and any attempts that have been made have been limited to academic spheres only. Poverty and unemployment, which are major challenges for developing countries, are major impediments to the success of MIL programs.

Conclusion

Despite best efforts of UNESCO and IFLA, MIL could not get due attention, which has been evinced by the emergence of Infodemic during COVID-19 situation. Albeit, the isolation, anxiety and lack of scientific knowledge about the emergent coronavirus were substantial factors for disturbance in information ecosystem, the tsunami of information/misinformation brought by ICTs and social media intensified the situation further, more visibly. Notwithstanding the measures espoused by various international, regional, and national organizations, government of diverse countries, and social media platforms to restraint the blowout of misinformation, infodemic could not be managed unless the populace are media and information literates. The spurt of misinformation accompanying COVID-19 pandemic has pollinated the inexorableness of strengthening of media and information literacy initiatives to develop media and information literate global society having resistance to counter any other wave(s) of infodemic in future.

Footnotes

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Nirmal Singh

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