Fake news, its dangers, and how we can fight it 10 pages, pdf  Download Back

Fake news, its dangers, and how we can fight it

Publisher: Sheila V. Siar

Volume: 10 pages, pdf

Description:

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak began to wreak havoc on the Philippines and across the globe, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said at the 2020 Munich Security conference that the world is not just fighting a pandemic but also an infodemic (Lancet 2020). Ghebreyesus was referring to the barrage of false information that was spreading faster than COVID-19, undermining efforts to arrest the transmission of the deadly disease.

Infodemic is synonymous with misinformation and disinformation, two different yet related concepts more widely known as ‘fake news’ and part of the so-called ‘information disorder’. But what really are they? Why would people believe in fake news and share it? How has fake news affected the pandemic response? What has been the impact of fake news on the economy? How can it be controlled?

This Policy Note explains the phenomena of misinformation and disinformation, the dangers they pose, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures being implemented by the public and private sectors to curb the spread of fake news. It also provides some policy recommendations on how to fight fake news with more sustained and lasting results as the end goal.