Disinfodemic: Dissecting Responses to COVID-19 Disinformation

"[T]he fight against COVID-19 disinformation is not a call to suppress the pluralism of information and opinion, nor to suppress vibrant policy debate. It is a fight for facts, because without evidence-based information for every person, a common victory against the COVID-19 pandemic will not be possible."

From the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this policy brief assesses emerging responses to the spread of disinformation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic - which UNESCO calls a "disinfodemic" - in the context of freedom of expression challenges. It is the companion to a brief (see Related Summaries, below) that offers 2 typologies for understanding the disinfodemic: The first identifies 9 key themes and 4 main format types associated with disinformation about COVID-19 and its impacts, and the second outlines 10 types of responses to the disinfodemic, which are grouped under 4 umbrella categories: (i) monitoring, fact-checking, and investigative responses; (ii) governance-based responses; (iii) curation, technological, and economic responses; and (iv) normative and ethical, educational, empowerment, and credibility labelling responses. It is this second typology that is analysed in more detail in this second policy brief, which includes a list of action options for various stakeholders.

For UNESCO, COVID-19-related disinformation is problematic because it can: lead to citizens endangering themselves by ignoring scientific advice; foment distrust in policymakers and governments; and divert journalists' efforts towards reactive disproving of falsehoods instead of proactive reporting of new information. UNESCO recognises that the right to information is essential to the economic, social, and cultural rights recognised by the international community - e.g., in the form of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.10 on "public access to information and fundamental freedoms", which helps power other SDGs, especially SDG 3 on "good health and wellbeing".

As outlined in this second brief, which is based on a hierarchical typology developed for an upcoming International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-UNESCO Broadband Commission report, the circuit of disinformation around COVID-19 can be assessed in terms of its: production, transmission, reception/consumption, and reproduction through ever-onward sharing and amplification beyond the initial cycle. Responses aim to address these 4 "moments": cutting the supply and generation of false content; limiting its transmission; inoculating receivers against effects; and preventing onward circulation. For each of these "moments", the brief outlines key assumptions, key challenges, and key opportunities, as follows:

1. Responses that focus on identifying COVID-19 disinformation - involves monitoring fast-spreading information, checking its correctness, and identifying who published it and why. The operating assumption is that verification and debunking can be a means for surfacing truth and for holding individuals, public figures, institutions, and the news media accountable for inaccurate claims. However, the volume and range of COVID-19 disinformation types can pose a challenge for fact-checking groups, journalists, and others to monitor, report, and draw public attention to all instances and all dimensions - and in all countries and languages, at scale and with impact. That said, there are various opportunities posed by this crisis, including, for example, the stimulus for journalists to strengthen their craft and credibility and to increase the visibility of their contribution to society in times of emergency.
2. Responses governing the production and distribution of COVID-19 disinformation - involves interventions ranging from criminalising COVID-19 disinformation at one end of the spectrum, through to increasing the supply of corrections to health-related falsehoods at the other, and, less commonly, supporting independent media. This approach reflects the hope that changing the communications environment in a centralised way can mitigate the circuit of disinformation, or at least lessen its impact, thereby allowing the society to tackle COVID-19 in scientifically grounded ways. The central challenge is the risk that restrictive responses to curtail COVID-19 disinformation could hurt the role of free and quality journalism in its ability to counter the disinfodemic. Such laws and regulations could also undermine the wider use of the internet by obstructing people's communications more broadly. With these (and other challenges described in the brief) come opportunities, such as supporting the supply side of information. For example, in recognising that news media institutions help to combat the disinfodemic and enable public transparency, investment in "stimulus" and "rescue packages" for independent journalism and news outlets can ensure the sustainability of journalism as a public good, as the pandemic takes a toll on media institutions.
3. Responses within the production and distribution of COVID-19 disinformation - focuses on actions within the primary institutions in the communications sphere - such as news media, social media, social messaging and search services. The responses in this category work on the basis of various assumptions, such as that internet communications companies and media organisations have leeway to organise the information (and, in certain cases, disinformation) that is transmitted through their services, and that they have the requisite social responsibility, ethical awareness, and content competency to act accordingly. One of the challenges is that there are inconsistent and opaque decisions being made. Yet, this pandemic represents an opportunity for internet communications companies to accelerate transparency, accountability mechanisms, and multi-stakeholder engagement, and news publishers can use the crisis to build trustworthiness as a source of facts and fact-based opinion.
4. Responses aimed at supporting the intended audiences of COVID-19 disinformation campaigns - covers normative interventions like resolutions and statements, media and information literacy (MIL) development, content credibility labelling initiatives, and journalism education and training. These strategies assume, among other things, that people (audiences and journalists) are moral, rational, and open to learning how to "inoculate" themselves (and others) against disinformation. One challenge is to ensure that all interventions are anchored within the legal and normative frameworks of human rights, such as freedom of expression (including access to information) and privacy. The main opportunities here involve reminding people about norms around access to information and freedom of expression, providing education and signals to help them, and reinforcing such knowledge, skills, and cues in a complex and rapidly changing environment.

The concluding portion of the brief offers a cross-cutting assessment of the assumptions, challenges, and opportunities discussed throughout. Overall: "Any coherent strategy to fight the realm of the disinfodemic needs to recognise the value of having a holistic and analytical approach to both the problem, and the range of practical and other responses leveraged. In this wider context, it is evident that freedom of expression, access to information and independent journalism - supported by open and affordable internet access - are not only fundamental human rights, but also essential parts of the arsenal against the disinfodemic." The focus of this multi-stakeholder effort, from UNESCO's perspective, is on:

• Containing and countering falsehoods caused by misinformation and disinformation;
• Assisting UNESCO Member States to align their disinfodemic responses to international human rights standards on freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy;
• Empowering citizens through MIL skills; and
• Supporting quality independent journalism to provide verifiable and reliable information.

Finally, the brief lays out options for actions to tackle the COVID-19 disinfodemic - delineating them for the following groups: UNESCO, other international institutions, governments, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, internet companies, the media sector, civil society groups, and researchers. To cite a few examples:

• Internet communications companies could ramp up multi-stakeholder engagement, demonstrating goodwill to improve policy and practices in support of access to quality information, including independent journalism, transparency on their controls of content, and redress mechanisms.
• Governments and other donors could support core funding for independent news media and fact checking efforts, with "no strings attached".
• Policymakers and institutions could promote open data that contain provisions and safeguards for privacy, especially with reference to surveillance and health data gathering.
• States could commit to transparency on strategies to combat the pandemic and recover from it, including public spending on pandemics and economic recovery plans, as a means to counter false information.
• Media companies could innovate, in the context of newsroom shutdowns and staff shortages, by producing public health information in more broadly accessible and engaging formats, such as infographics, podcasts, and moderated online forums with medical experts, and by relying more heavily on user-generated content (UGC) that has been subjected to rigorous fact-checking.
• Civil society groups could develop programmes for children and older citizens who are under-served by MIL campaigns and therefore more susceptible to exploitation by disinformation agents.
• Researchers could ensure that female expertise is visible as a way of addressing gender inequalities in international debates on the disinfodemic.

UNESCO's Sector for Communication and Information has published this research as part of its ongoing work to promote freedom of expression and universal access to information. Both UNESCO policy briefs were supported by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), which is assisting journalists working on the frontlines of the disinfodemic around the world.