We are in the midst of an information crisis, and journalists and health professionals are at the frontlines of this “Infodemic”. Capacity-building efforts to empower them with the tools for fact-checking can go a long way.
By Anuja Venkatachalam
“Fake news and panic will destroy more lives than coronavirus” read a recent order from the Supreme Court of India urging the government to take proactive measures to curb misinformation.
We are in the midst of an information crisis as misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 continues to claim hundreds of lives across the world. Governments and technology companies are under pressure to curb misinformation, and search trends indicate increased public interest and awareness about misinformation and fake news, as these topics receive an unprecedented surge in online searches.
The onus of fact-checking large volumes of information about COVID-19 however, lies on journalists and public health professionals who are at the frontlines of this “Infodemic”.
An analysis of social media content from 87 countries found that COVID-19-related misinformation consisted of rumors around illness, transmission, and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), treatment and cures (19%), cause of disease including the origin (15%), violence (1%), and miscellaneous (20%).
Fact-checking medical misinformation, therefore, requires journalists to blend traditional journalistic practices with modern verification techniques, and more importantly, possess sound knowledge of the medical sciences and research. Arguably, some of the most popular cases of misinformation have been a result of misreporting the validity of medical studies.
In an effort to contribute to the global fight against medical misinformation, DataLEADS and BOOM with support from Google News Initiative have launched efforts to build the capacity of journalists and health professionals in fact-checking and health reporting.
25 journalists and health professionals were selected from over 80 applicants to participate in a 4-day online workshop on medical misinformation. Representing 11 states, and possessing an average of 12 years of experience, these mid to senior-level professionals were trained by experts in the fields of medicine and journalism on how to identify and debunk medical misinformation.
The workshop was curated by DataLEADS and BOOM in consultation with a team of senior doctors and journalists and included sessions on image verification, video verification, source verification, medical research, and writing, where participants worked with real-life cases of medical misinformation.
The 25 participants trained under the program have now constituted the Health Fact-checking India Training Network to conduct similar workshops for newsrooms, press clubs, health organizations, and colleges across the country.
Tough times call for strong collaborations, and the Health Fact-checking India Training Network hopes to empower journalists and health professionals with fact-checking skills required to curb the ongoing deluge of medical misinformation online.
Organizations interested in receiving training can register here: https://bit.ly/31asCxx.
