1. The Infodemic of COVID19
Communication Theory studies the ability of some living things to relate to others through the exchange of information. It aims to explain how human beings can control their environment through the use of information and indicates that organizations must designate a person to be their sole spokesperson during crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over all areas of our lives, unusually, monopolizing conversations, debates, institutional messages, press headlines, warnings on social networks, and even jokes of dubious taste.
The world is shocked and profoundly affected by the atypical, unexpected and uncertain situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as by the unpredictability of the economic and social scope that this health crisis will generate. According to the NGO World Vision, it could reverse 30 years of progress in poverty reduction. The lack of certainty in the information worldwide and the potentially deadly effects of this virus, which has already reached a pandemic status, triggered fears and, at times, panic, as well as psychosis in world society.
As scientists around the world scramble to find a coronavirus vaccine, the disinformation 'pandemic' that threatens our planet becomes more dangerous than COVID-19 itself. Anxiety and depression caused by thoughts induced by fear of being infected are increasingly threatening to people. Disaster scenarios caused by ignorance and increasing uncertainty raise the level of fear.
The World Health Organization (WHO) coined the term infodemic, proposed by Canadian Gunther Eysenbach, to describe the spread of misinformation about the virus, making it difficult for people to find reliable resources to get true news through traditional media communication, or on social networks. One of the most harmful effects of COVID-19 is the virulent spread of fake news, whether by WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Messenger, among many other networks. Disinformation spreads alarmingly around the world, generating panic, systematically misinforming the population, causing collapses in the stock exchanges, as urban myths and legends continue to grow.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently explained that "Blatant lies are spreading on the Internet at a terrifying rate." A recent analysis found that over 40% of posts about COVID-19, on one of the leading social media platforms, were posted by bots (automated programs disguised as people. Moreover, the coronavirus has also paralyzed the advertising business, both digital and print. And with it the business model of many publishers, which is based on advertising.
According to the Federal Association of Newspaper and Magazine Editors (BDZV), "advertising revenue is plunging massively during the crisis." Without travel, without events, without gastronomy, there is total paralysis. Instead, the disappearance of the traditional press continues and numerous publishers have introduced part-time work given the loss of income.
The digital transformation and the desperate search for a business model that has worked have been a constant element in the planning of the media sector in recent years. The financial effort of printed newspapers is becoming more costly because of the decrease in circulation and the increase in printing and distribution costs. Only the public media are saved from the crisis due to the fixed quota model.
In the next section, a statistical analysis was carried out to verify if the contagion of CONAVID-19 is influenced by the level of regional wealth, or personal income, these hypotheses were discarded, but it was confirmed that social isolation is an effective medicine.
To review the results of the analyzes, you can download the attached article.
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Edmundo Pimentel
Teacher
CONAFIN
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