What is the difference between infodemic and disinfodemic?



As the World Health Organization (WHO) noted, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has been accompanied by a “massive infodemic”, that is to say “an overabundance of information – some accurate and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it”. 

An infodemic is described as“the rapid spread of information of all kinds, including rumours, gossip and unreliable information” and generating ”confusion, anxiety and even panic in times of serious infectious outbreaks”. Its global spread is amplified by the use of digital and traditional media.

In this context, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) coined the specific term of ‘disinfodemic’ to describe the deliberate “falsehoods fuelling the pandemic” and its “viral load of potentially deadly disinformation”. A disinfodemic is particularly dangerous as it can cause widespread public reluctance to adopt public health measures and thus delay essential interventions.



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