Tracking the infodemic

“The 2019-nCoV outbreak and response has been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic’ — an overabundance of information — some accurate and some not — that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.”

– World Health Organization Situation Report, February 2, 2020.

At First Draft, we have spent much of 2020 tracking the infodemic. In this overview, we bring together our editorial series, ‘Tracking the infodemic’, which covered how some governments are adopting “fake news laws” that threaten human rights, how geopolitics is influencing online communities’ responses to coronavirus treatments, and the impact of religious misinformation in Latin America. We also investigated how Twitter’s algorithm led anti-mask sentiment to boost pro-mask content, as well as how the concepts of “the facts” and “the truth” are creating different ways of knowing during the crisis.

Tracking the infodemic: Charting six months of coronavirus misinformation

Six months after the World Health Organization first declared an 'infodemic', what have we learned about coronavirus misinformation?

The difference between the facts and the truth

Data deficits: why we need to monitor the demand and supply of information in real time

We introduce the concept of 'data deficits', and explain why we must monitor them, and how.

The first six months of the pandemic, as told by the fact checks

First Draft has analyzed 9,722 fact checks to tell the story of pandemic misinformation through the work of those fighting it.

Why we need a Google Trends for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Reddit

In the midst of a pandemic, we need to track the flow of credible information.

'Fake news' laws, privacy & free speech on trial: Government overreach in the infodemic?

Governments around the world have tried to deal with the infodemic by restricting what people can say online. Some say they’ve gone too far.

Vaccine nationalism: How geopolitics is shaping responses to the pandemic

Geopolitical and nationalist narratives have been playing out in different communities, fomenting false information around treatments for the coronavirus

‘An unquestionable truth’: Religious misinformation in the coronavirus pandemic

As the pandemic spreads in Latin America, some Christian communities find themselves caught between faith and science.

Coronavirus: How pro-mask posts boost the anti-mask movement

Despite the trending hashtags and media coverage, research shows anti-maskers are often amplified by algorithms, Twitter and the people who mock them