The World Health Organization is holding an "infodemiology" conference to develop evidence-based practices to detect and respond to mis-and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientific misinformation is not a new phenomenon, but it has "escalated to a level that requires a coordinated response" during the pandemic, the WHO said. An infodemic occurs when there is too much information on a given subject, and for the conference, infodemiology was defined as "the science of managing infodemics."
The conference's objectives include understanding the multidisciplinary nature of infodemic management and building a public health research agenda to invest in the emerging field.
The event includes three components: a public conference that took place June 19, a scientific conference from June 30 to July 16 and a public webinar July 21 to share conference outcomes.