Digital Mis/Disinformation and Public Engagment with Health and ScienceControversies: Fresh Perspectives from Covid-19 Articles uri icon

publication date

  • June 2020

start page

  • 323

end page

  • 328

issue

  • 2

volume

  • 8

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2183-2439

abstract

  • Digital media, while opening a vast array of avenues for lay people to effectively engage with news, information and debatesabout important science and health issues, have become a fertile land for various stakeholders to spread misinformationand disinformation, stimulate uncivil discussions and engender ill-informed, dangerous public decisions. Recent developments of the Covid-19 infodemic might just be the tipping point of a process that has been long simmering in controversialareas of health and science (e.g., climate-change denial, anti-vaccination, anti-5G, Flat Earth doctrines). We bring togethera wide range of fresh data and perspectives from four continents to help media scholars, journalists, science communicators, scientists, health professionals and policy-makers to better undersand these developments and what can be done tomitigate their impacts on public engagement with health and science controversies.

subjects

  • Information Science

keywords

  • anti-5g; anti-vaccination; covid-19; conspiracy theories; disinformation; healh controversies; infodemic; misinformation; science controversies