Public communication is a vaccine against scientific denialism, says research

The politicization of health issues and the refusal to provide public information are strategies used by political agents to promote scientific denialism during the Covid 19 pandemic. The topic was addressed at the seminar Lessons from the Pandemic for the Communication of Epidemics, which brought together researchers and representatives of public bodies. The online meeting also highlighted the application of new public competitions as a way of strengthening the service and the challenge of streamlining the advisory function.

According to the diagnosis of the Pancopop project, which carries out studies on the influence of populism on communication services in the context of a health crisis, violations of press freedom were intensified during the pandemic. Even in the face of the spread of rumors and false claims about vaccines and virus transmission, no country has taken significant measures to combat misinformation.

For Pancopop coordinator, Sabina Mihelj, populist leaders made access to information of public interest difficult during the crisis. In Brazil and the United States there was denial about the seriousness of the threat. In Poland and Serbia, guidance from health experts was drawn up when it was politically inconvenient. “In the four countries, a politicization of public health in different forms was also noted. With attacks on scientific experts or the instrumentalization of science for political purposes. These actions contributed to the polarization of opinions and undermined the ability to solve collective problems”, explains Sabina.

Belief in misinformation — Among the factors that are related to the greater probability of believing in false information, the study highlights that the electorate of populist politicians has more mistaken beliefs. Furthermore, distrusting experts and sticking to news received on messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, are also indicative of belief in misinformation.

Milena Silva, responsible for the technical center for communication and health surveillance at the city hall of Campinas (SP), assesses that it is only possible to carry out comprehensive and efficient communication work through the development of policies that enable the service. Since the work of advisors is silenced when it hurts the interests of government officials.

“And in many cases the role is the spokesperson for things that not everyone wants to hear, because we also announce responsibilities that belong to the government and that are often not a priority, or are not prepared to be done, or there will be some impacts on political, social and economic projects”, he criticizes.

The professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santos (UFES), Edgard Rebouças, emphasizes that the fight against false information is based on quality news. “Strengthened public communication, with social control and participation from society, far removed from what could be state or government communication, but rather social communication, from the public, is also a great vaccine against misinformation”, he explains .

Spreading fake news is an ethical violation – The Federal Nursing Council (Cofen) has participated, since 2020, in campaigns against the spread of fake news in Health. Myths and false information about Covid-19 motivated attacks on professionals during the pandemic, in addition to encouraging vaccine hesitancy. Nurses, technicians and nursing assistants can respond to ethical processes in the event of the spread of fake news. The Cofen System/Regional Councils elections included a fact-checking service and combating misinformation.

Source: Ascom/Cofen