g-f(2)21 WEF: There's no vaccine for the infodemic - so how can we combat the virus of misinformation?

VIRAL KNOWLEDGE: The “genioux facts” knowledge news

Extra-condensed knowledge

In a world where social media is increasingly where most of us get so much of our information, and where we value freedom of speech as a cornerstone of democracy, what can be done to combat dangerous misinformation?

• Fake news about COVID, its origins, treatment and prevention, has gone viral.
• UN has launched counter-attack, wants you to help.
• Storyful founder says algorithms and human editors can help turn the tide.

Genioux knowledge fact condensed as an image.

Condensed knowledge 

• "When COVID-19 emerged, it was clear from the outset this was not just a public health emergency, but a communications crisis as well," says Melissa Fleming, who leads global communications for the United Nations.
• With a huge public demand for information about the pandemic and the rapid spread of false information, the 'infodemic' is putting lives at risk, so Fleming is heading a campaign to help true information surface out of the deluge of rumours and lies.
• She has launched 'Verified' - where people can sign up for daily emails on the latest COVID news that comes from reliable sources: "science-based information" that might otherwise be buried on "page 125 of a PDF" presented "in formats that are optimized for sharing on social media."
• The UN is also encouraging us to stop rushing to re-post potentially dubious content, promoting the hashtag #PledgetoPause.
• The UN is also encouraging social media influencers to help spread real news about the pandemic. "So far, we've recruited 110,000 information volunteers, and we equip these information volunteers with the kind of knowledge about how misinformation spreads and ask them to serve as kind of 'digital first-responders' in those spaces where misinformation travels," Fleming says.
• Journalist and entrepreneur Mark Little sets out potential solutions to the infodemic.
• He's worked for Twitter and founded Storyful, a social media news agency that had fact-checking at its heart. He has now launched a new company called Kinzen which aims to get the best out of artificial intelligence and human editors to combat online rumours and lies.

Category 1, 2, 3 and 4: 

1. A new, better world for everyone

2. The Big Picture of the Digital Era

3. The Big Picture of Sports

4. Coronavirus and other viruses

[genioux fact extracted from WEF]

Authors of the genioux fact

Fernando Machuca

References

There's no vaccine for the infodemic - so how can we combat the virus of misinformation?, Robin Pomeroy and Alexander Court, November 26, 2020, World Economic Forum.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Robin Pomeroy is a journalist with Reuters who is currently working at the World Economic Forum.

Alexander Court is marketing communications lead at the World Economic Forum. He previously worked for three years at the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.