Background
With the increasing amount of information circulating about COVID-19 and the evolving of scientific knowledge about the disease, it can be difficult to make sense of it. Indeed, it has been estimated that over 200,000 scientific papers relating to COVID-19, sometimes contradicting each other, have been published in 2020 [1]. This abundance of information coupled with pandemic fatigue has created a lot of uncertainty especially at a time when the general public and policy makers need clarity. However, it is not only scientific articles that are widely share, the general public also produces information especially through social networks. Indeed, these last months we have been inundated with information, and according to UN Global Pulse, the UN Secretary-General's initiative on big data and artificial intelligence, information about the virus was mentioned nearly 40 million times on Twitter and online news sites in the 47 countries of the WHO African region between February and November 2020.
This information may be deliberately misleading (i.e. disinformation), while some information are produced and shared without necessarily being intended to mislead the reader (i.e. misinformation).
As stated by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), in his opening speech, “scientific processes, decision-making in an emergency context and mass communication do not fit together easily”.
Therefore, from 7 to 25 June 2021, at the WHO Global Conference on “Communicating Science during Health Emergencies”, various stakeholders came together to share their experiences of the challenges encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, to learn from the situations faced and to develop a set of principles for effective science communication during public health emergencies.
The role of knowledge platforms in communicating science around decision-making
The impact of COVID-19 has put a strain on even the most resilient health systems. This has proven, once again, that it is of paramount importance to have reliable knowledge and data collection platforms in order for policy makers and the public to make informed decisions, as better health information leads to better health. Such data and evidence can be found in knowledge platforms such as the integrated African Health Observatory (iAHO). iAHO as an online health intelligence portal aims to provide a real-time overview of what is happening in the context of COVID-19 in the region (e.g. providing dashboards on essential health services disruptions, blog articles, views, etc).
At the national level, knowledge platforms also play a crucial role in communicating science around decision-making. During the conference, the African Health Observatory Platforms on Health Systems and Policies (AHOP) National centres from Kenya and Nigeria were able to share their experiences of COVID-19 related activities. Their platforms served as a springboard for translating scientific jargon into more accessible language.
In Nigeria, for example, using blog posts to communicate latest research, alongside with scientific articles for very technical audience, proved effective, as the easy-to-read COVID-19 content, open to a non-technical audience, was read thousands of times. This mode of communication has allowed reliable information to be shared with a wide audience.
In addition, the Nigerian AHOP national centre has organised several events to exchange and raise awareness directly with communities and policy makers.
This created an opportunity for more advanced dialogue for action between community actors and policy makers but was also a way to advance accountability between policy makers and community actors.
In Kenya, the national AHOP centre served as a bridge between researchers and policy makers to enhance the use of evidence in policy making. Therefore, concise and straightforward joint synthesis and knowledge translation articles have been developed to provide rapid access to high quality COVID-19 evidence, tailored to the diverse needs of policy makers.
The reliable health data and information available on these knowledge platforms not only provides policymakers and the public with an understanding of the disease, but also lends legitimacy to the public health measures to be taken to contain the pandemic.
Social networks: a place to share but also to prevent misinformation and disinformation
Throughout the conference, it was pointed out that social media plays a dominant role in the dissemination of information. In the Information age, it is no surprise that an uncountable amount of information is circulating on social networks. While this mass circulation of information can be beneficial, as it allows for the sharing of best practices, social networks are also a platform for the sharing of false information that can undermine public health efforts, be dangerous to health, and prolong the pandemic.
In the African region, these rumours are also actively circulating. According to an Africa CDC study on "COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions", 66% of respondents said they had seen or heard rumours about COVID-19. More than a year after the outbreak, a minority of respondents believe that the disease is man-made (23%) or does not exist (6%).
In order to combat the misinformation and disinformation surrounding COVID-19, the Africa Infodemic Alliance (AIRA), has been set up. As defined by Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, “an infodemic is a delugue of information in a health emergency, some information is true but some is false, misleading or even downright dangerous. Viral health misinformation cost lives.”
This network, hosted by WHO, is a platform that brings together governmental and intergovernmental operational agencies as well as non-state actors/entities that are mobilising against the infodemic threat around COVID-19 and the infodemic threat in general.
As explained at the conference by Aurélie Skrobik, an Infodemic Response Analyst, this alliance allows the African region to counter misinformation and disinformation by using what is published online to provide accurate and fact-based information to the general public. “ViralFacts” was therefore created on several platforms (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook), where it is possible to verify the veracity of the information on the very same platforms where such false or incorrect information circulates.
In addition to the work done by the fact-checkers, the technology industry quickly put mechanisms in place to prevent the circulation of false information and facilitate access to reliable medias and websites. This has been done for example, by removing misleading or even dangerous content, by promoting reliable sources of information on their platforms or by developing algorithms that can track misinformation and disinformation.
However, although fact-checkers and digital companies try to restore the veracity of information on social networks, they are not able to control information circulating on private channels (e.g. email, messaging application or closed group). Moreover, due to the large amount of information circulating, fact checkers must select the most alarming information, making the information analysis exhaustive.
Towards better readiness for future pandemics.
Many recommendations were shared at the end of the conference to ensure that during this pandemic and future one the circulation of better evidence is more widely spread.
Firstly, it has been noted that it is important to “educate and empower people to navigate the overwhelming amount of information circulating during a pandemic”. Secondly, it is also important that the private and public sectors continue to work together to combat misinformation and disinformation. Finally, it is essential that reliable information, based on scientific evidence and easily understood by all, is shared by the media, communities, governments, civil society and institutions.
The conference also provided an opportunity to create a multidisciplinary network of "science communicators" who will be called upon for future science communication activities.
Reference
[1] 1 E Else, H. How a torrent of COVID science changed research publishing - in seven charts. Nature 588, 553 (2020)