BackThe COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an unprecedented information "epidemic” or “infodemic”, as reported in a Joint Communication of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy “Tackling COVID-19 disinformation – Getting the facts right” of 6 June 20201”.
In response to this “infodemic”, governments and public health experts around the world have taken public communication initiatives to combat the spread of disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and raise awareness regarding the risks of disinformation.
A recently published document on “The effect of communication and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic”, was provided by the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. Policy Departments provide in-house and external expertise to support European Parliament committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU internal policies.
The document – which you can find in the download section below – analyses how governments, public health experts and other professionals communicated during the pandemic, and the impact of these communication strategies. It investigates COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation practices, and how these were addressed in the European Union by the Member States and the European Commission. It draws up recommendations to improve responses in the future, including by analysing the role of the Code of Practice on disinformation ad the expected impact of the Digital Services Act.
Source: Think Tank European Parliament, EU
