Figure - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a public research agenda to address infodemics. In these, ‘an overflow of information of varying quality surges across digital and physical environments’. The WHO’s expert panel has raised concerns that this can result in negative health behaviours and erosion of trust in health authorities and pu...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... this opinion piece, we elaborate on where 'post-truth' moments may arrive in three types of division of knowledge labour: the first is the infodemic research agenda (see Table 2), the second is research into mRNA vaccines (see Table 3) and the third concerns research into individual health responsibility to protect against fatal COVID-19 outcomes (see Table 4) and the risk of onward viral transmission. For this public health crisis, we are concerned with the relationships between health communication, public health policy and recommended medical interventions. ...Context 2
... Staff who conducted quality control checks were overwhelmed by the volume of problems they were finding. That study also found that allcause mortality was higher in the 'vaccinated' than in the control group 26 (Table S4, p. 78) which should have been recognised as a safety signal. Pfizer only acknowledged one excess death (16 vs. 15) in the vaccinated group in its six month safety report. ...Similar publications
As a heritage site today, Borobudur is arguably constructed from stories of ancient grandeur, regrettable loss, and colonial rescue, infused with lingering aesthetics of colonial construction. This paper discusses the historical deconstruction of the process of historical knowledge production of Borobudur by analysing the Babad Tanah Jawi manuscrip...
Citations
... This may consist of a confusing combination of fact, falsehood, rumour and opinion, termed infodemics. 17 In an infodemic, 'an overflow of information of varying quality surges across digital and physical environments'. The WHO has aptly raised concerns that this can contribute to negative health behaviours and an erosion of trust in health authorities and public health responses. ...
... For instance, experiences with health misinformation during the Ebola, HIV, polio and Zika epidemics, it has been claimed, revealed costs to public health and to health systems when rumours and misinformation were amplified. 17 While this health misinformation view has been portrayed by the WHO in relation to COVID-19, similar concern has been expressed by some scholars regarding spoken narratives or narrative health communication 1 about pandemics such as cancer and cancer awareness discourse. According to Sitto et al., narrative health communication has the potential for effective health promotion about cancer among youth from low-and middle-income countries such as South Africa. ...
A global COVID-19 pandemic caused untold community disruptions, a huge toll on lives and placed major burdens on the economies of developing countries. It spread worldwide within a short period of time before nations could mobilise evidence for the best responses. Communities in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe were heavily disrupted. This article focuses on exploring the transboundary differences in COVID-19 responses, plus the implications for improving the health communication strategies in a pandemic age. Health practitioners and governments were ill-prepared to inform the general public about the pandemic and enforced complete shutdowns of economic and social activities. With the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging communities, there was a dearth of focused health communication on COVID-19’s end. New tools of communication and dissemination of information were embraced in the southern Africa country-specific cases. For example, content on precautionary lifestyles, individual or personal responsibility and utilisation of community health workers in the pandemic era was prioritised to prevent or minimise infections and avoid recurrence of the disease. New communication methods were important for addressing uncertainty and can be applied for any future pandemic. This health communication topic addresses the neglected, but important gap on the efficacy of processes towards better health communication strategies. The transdisciplinary methods include improved health communication strategies informed by the experiences of three Southern African Development Community countries. While such measures to arrest COVID-19 proved plausible, these countries’ projections for the future are a concern, suggesting an urgent need to enhance and strengthen health communication in southern Africa.Transdisciplinary contribution: This is a transdisciplinary exploration of health communication and its implications for COVID-19 and future pandemic responses in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
A blind spot exists in scholarship regarding the use of non-consensual persuasion techniques for promoting experimental treatments. Drawing upon a conceptual framework that distinguishes between consensual and non-consensual organisation persuasive communication (OPC) this paper shows how deceptive messaging, incentivization and coercion meant that consent to take the COVID-19 vaccine was not fully informed nor freely given. Specifically, in South Africa, people were incentivized through financial inducements, coerced by employment policies involving mandatory testing and, in the case of pregnant women, misled by inaccurate claims regarding mRNA vaccine safety. In addition, key definitional changes to what was meant by a 'vaccine' and a 'pandemic' enabled the rapid roll out and promotion of genetic vaccines, including Pfizer's BioNTech Comirnaty®. The case study findings highlight how health campaigns can involve persuasion strategies that are non-consensual. It is particularly concerning that strategies involving incentivization ran alongside misleading claims regarding vaccine safety for pregnant women. The wider question raised by the study relates to whether non-consensual strategies emerged due to overzealous drives to protect the wider public good or are more accurately understood to have been influenced by political and economic interests. More research is needed into this important question.
This study aims to examine how different generations perceived and responded to news and disinformation about the February 6, 2023 Earthquake in Türkiye, focusing on their trust in news sources and methods of verifying authenticity. In this study, the data were collected from semi-structured interviews held with 30 participants using qualitative methods and they were analyzed with MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2022, through thematic analysis to uncover generational nuances in digital media engagement and trust. The analysis revealed five primary themes: digital media usage habits, trust and reliability in news sources, fake news verification practices, causes of fake news, and views on media legislation. The findings of the study indicated significant generational differences in digital media consumption habits. Notably, maintaining consistent online presence and integrating digital media into everyday life in Generation Z stood out as decisive factors in their reactions to news and disinformation about the February 6, 2023 Earthquake. The study also highlighted varied approaches among generations toward detecting disinformation. While Generation X preferred to use the methods of verification over broadcast media, Generations Y and Z showed a propensity for utilizing digital tools for identifying and verifying fake news. Attitudes toward media legislation differed among generations, yet there was a general consensus on the necessity of such laws to adapt to the digital age's challenges and play a crucial role in combating disinformation. This study offered a detailed comparative analysis on how different generations use digital media and their attitudes toward accuracy of news, particularly in response to significant events such as the February 6, 2023 Earthquake in Türkiye. This study would contribute to adopt a deeper understanding about the critical role of accurate information access during crises and the varying media consumption habits and attitudes toward disinformation across generations. The study emphasized the importance of tailored approaches in media literacy education and disinformation counter-strategies, as well as the need for media laws to be updated in accordance with the demands of the digital era.
