Although “Infodemic” was coined in 2003 the word has never been more prominent than during the pandemic. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “a word that blends ‘information’ and ‘epidemic,’ and refers to the rapid spread of information – both accurate and inaccurate – in the age of the internet and social media.”
When Covid-19 started to spread rapidly, people wanted answers about what to do if they became sick with the virus. Their were plenty of websites and opinions on social media about different treatment options – some dubious – and others informative. Too much information can make it hard to determine what’s true and what isn’t. The World Health Organization remarks that an infodemic can “cause confusion and risk-taking behaviours that can harm health. It also leads to mistrust in health authorities and undermines the public health response.”
Infodemic appeared as early as February 2020 when an article written for TechnologyReview.com described coronavirus as “the first true social-media infodemic…the greatest source of anxiety has been the tortuous process of watching the news unfold on social media” (Karen Hao Tanya Basu).
Social Media Trends as of August 13, 2022
Facebook #infodemic: 4,700 people are posting about this
Instagram #infodemic: 5,879 posts
TikTok #infodemic: 251,800 views
YouTube #infodemic: 260 videos and 153 channels
Google Trends: the term infodemic isn’t new but was first picked up during the week of February 2, 2020 and peaked in popularity during the week of March 15, 2020. News of the pandemic was distressing to many and people wanted answers. All kinds of theories were making the rounds on the internet leading some to describe this explosion of information as an infodemic.
Sources:
“Infodemic.” World Health Organization. URL: https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1.
“Infodemic.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. URL: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-infodemic-meaning.
Karen Haoarchive and Tanya Basuarchive. “The coronavirus is the first true social-media ‘infodemic’.” Technology Review. February 12, 2020. URL: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/12/844851/the-coronavirus-is-the-first-true-social-media-infodemic/.