In the last few years, thanks to COVID-19, we have started to talk more about infodemia. We use this term to refer to the phenomenon of the dissemination of excessive amounts of false or inaccurate information about a health-related issue. The spread of misinformation is facilitated by specific media channels and political leaders.
Misinformation and disinformation have had a significant impact on the extent of the pandemic and, for example, the vaccination against COVID-19. Sometimes it is difficult to detect this kind of false news because their creators have become very sophisticated.
Some of the myths and misinformation associated with COVID-19 are very credible because they have a detailed theoretical basis containing many names, events and dates.
This study had two main goals: to investigate the information environment of Czech society and its influence on opinions about the Covid-19 epidemic and epidemiological policy.
By: Kateřina Turková & Veronika Macková, Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, and CEDMO Czech Republic
Read the study here.