Empowering Users to Respond to Misinformation about Covid-19

Emily K. Vraga, Melissa Tully and Leticia Bode
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Emily K. Vraga: Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, USA
Melissa Tully: School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa
Leticia Bode: Communication, Culture, and Technology, Georgetown University, USA

Media and Communication, 2020, vol. 8, issue 2, 475-479

Abstract: The World Health Organization has declared that misinformation shared on social media about Covid-19 is an “infodemic” that must be fought alongside the pandemic itself. We reflect on how news literacy and science literacy can provide a foundation to combat misinformation about Covid-19 by giving social media users the tools to identify, consume, and share high-quality information. These skills can be put into practice to combat the infodemic by amplifying quality information and actively correcting misinformation seen on social media. We conclude by considering the extent to which what we know about these literacies and related behaviors can be extended to less-researched areas like the Global South.

Keywords: Coronavirus; correction; Covid-19; misinformation; news literacy; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v8:y:2020:i:2:p:475-479

DOI: 10.17645/mac.v8i2.3200

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