This guide attempts to provide simple, practical guidance in developing a response to rumors and misinformation about COVID-19.
COVID-19 Rumors and Misinformation
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic UNICEF, with the help of funding from Johnson & Johnson, US Centers of Disease Control and the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), has sourced and digitzed a health worker training content library that can be deployed on a variety of digital channels, including SMS, Social Media Messaging Apps (i.e., WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram), and other app-based learning management systems.
This is a collection of materials produced by, among other organizations. the Nepali and Indian Ministries of Health and Nepal’s National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre to share messages about COVID-19 prevention and care.
This review focuses on misinformation that appeared early in the pandemic. During this phase, little was known about the virus, such as how it spread or how infected people could be treated most effectively.
"Building on previous work on Ebola and Zika viruses using Global Health Security Agenda systems strengthening support, Breakthrough ACTION developed a process and technology for systematically collecting, analyzing, and addressing COVID-19 rumors in real-time in Côte d’Ivoire. Rumors were submitted through community-based contributors and collected from callers to the national hotlines and then processed on a cloud-hosted database.
This special section of the COVID Communication Network houses materials produced during the resurgence of COVID-19 in India during the spring of 2021.
This website is a collaborative initiative that houses content and creative materials, related to COVID-19, curated by an editorial team. This content is in English, Hindi and other regional languages, and formats include images, GIFs, Videos etc.
This is a handbook designed to help the media to support and communicate with their audiences about the COVID-19 pandemic. It is available in English, Ukrainian and Romanian.
"This paper describes the characteristics of an infodemic, which combines an inordinately high volume of information (leading to problems relating to locating the information, storage capacity, ensuring quality, visibility and validity) and rapid output (making it hard to assess its value, manage the gatekeeping process, apply results, track its history, and leading to a waste of effort).
The authors of this article believe that, "the intertwining spreads of the [COVID-19] virus and of misinformation and disinformation require an approach to counteracting deceptions and misconceptions that parallels epidemiologic models by focusing on three elements: real-time surveillance, accurate diagnosis, and rapid response."