SINGAPORE – Journalists have a key role to play in fighting present and future pandemics, particularly in tackling the veritable flood of information – called an “infodemic” – they bring along, said Dr Sylvie Briand, director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness department, on Monday (Nov 23).

“Epidemics bring a lot of fear and uncertainty… now (that) everybody is connected and can have 24/7 access to news and information. So it’s very hard to manage this tsunami of information that we call an infodemic,” said Dr Briand at the virtual Science in the Newsroom Global Summit 2020.

Dr Briand explained that this “infodemic” necessarily carries a lot of false and misleading information, as was made overwhelmingly obvious during the Covid-19 outbreak.

This can lead to confusion, as people do not know what is accurate among all the things they read. Inaccurate information can be dangerous, resulting in people taking misinformed risks, she said.

This is what happened in Iran, where thousands of people drank toxic methanol in an attempt to shield themselves from the coronavirus.

Misinformation also erodes trust in government, in public health authorities and in science, added Dr Briand.

“This is why the infodemic is something we need to manage… We cannot eliminate it, but we can manage it better,” she said.

She explained that in every epidemic, three types of rumours tend to circulate: about the origin of the disease, whether it actually exists or if the pandemic is made up, and the kinds of intervention that can be taken to fight it.

“For instance, during Ebola, people didn’t want to go to the healthcare facilities and Ebola treatment centres because they were afraid that somebody would kill them and take their organs,” she said.

She added: “This is where journalists can really help, because journalists are (the) mediator between the science and the population. They have a very important role to play to distil the science, explain how the scientific process works, and how it’s normal during a new pandemic or epidemic to have uncertainties.”

Journalists also play a key role in helping to mitigate this fear, reassuring the public while remaining transparent about the risk posed by the disease. This will allow readers to adopt the right behaviour to protect themselves, said Dr Briand.

Two other experts also presented their views during the session, which was moderated by The Straits Times senior health correspondent Salma Khalik.

Professor Denise Lievesley, former principal and current honorary fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, said that reporters can help the public better understand the statistics used during a public health crisis.

She noted that some governments try to use numbers to show they are managing the pandemic well, rather than to paint an accurate picture of the situation.

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As an example, she mentioned the government of the United Kingdom turning the number of Covid-19 tests administered into a target.

Prof Lievesley said this resulted in the data being corrupted so that the authorities could prove they had met their target.

“It became a political issue, rather than a good measure that helped us design better systems,” she added.

She concluded there was a need for journalists to be sceptical and ask questions, and remember that numbers can be made up and be misleading as well, and cautioned that not all statisticians report their findings without external influence.

Meanwhile, Professor Carlos Gonçalo das Neves, who is the director of research and internationalisation at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, said that journalists can help prevent the next pandemic.

Noting that scientific articles about coronaviruses in bats had been published prior to the Covid-19 pandemic but had not garnered much media attention, he explained that journalists need to work closely with scientists when covering scientific studies.

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This will help them to better pick up on key papers and bring them to the public’s attention in a timely manner, he added.

“It might be good science if it gets published in Nature. But it’s only (considered) the truth if it’s on BBC or at The Straits Times… If (the message) gets spread the right way, it has the potential to touch people like never before,” said Prof das Neves.

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