Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 42 |
| Journal | Biology and Philosophy |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 28 Sept 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2023 |
Abstract
In this paper, we critically consider the analogy between “infodemic” and “pandemic”, i.e. the spread of fake news about COVID-19 as a medial virus and the infection with the biological virus itself from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory (CET). After confronting three major shortcomings of the ‘infodemic’ concept, we use CET as a background framework to analyze this phenomenon. To do so, we summarize which bi-ases are crucial for transmission in terms of cultural selection and how transmission is restricted by filter bubbles or echo chambers acting as TRIMS (transmission isolating mechanisms) post “infection”, which isolate false from trustworthy scientific information in the context of the Corona pandemic. This is followed by a demonstration of the threat to biological fitness posed by the effects of an infection with fake news, which leads to a reduced willingness to vaccinate and follow health measures. We identify fake news on Covid as pseudoscience, trying to immunize itself from external influences. We then address the question of how to combat the infodemic. Since debunking strategies, such as warnings by fact-checking, have proven relatively ineffective in combating fake news, the inoculation theory from psychology might offer an alternative solution. Through its underlying ‘prebunking strategy’, which educates individuals about the risks and tactics of fake news prior to a potential infection, they could be ‘immunized’ in advance, similar to a virological vaccination. Although we recognize that the pandemic/infodemic analogy is in fact far from perfect, we believe that CET could provide a theoretical underpinning in order to give much more semantic depth to the concept ‘infodemic’.
Keywords
- COVID-19, Cultural evolution, Fake news, Infodemic, Inoculation, Pandemic
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Philosophy
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- History and Philosophy of Science
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Biology and Philosophy, Vol. 38, No. 5, 42, 10.2023.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Pandemic and infodemic
T2 - the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 from a cultural evolutionary perspective
AU - Häusler, Lara
AU - Baraghith, Karim
N1 - Funding Information: We are deeply thankful to Alberto Acerbi, Thomas Reydon, Phillipe Huneman, Hugh Desmond and two anonymous referees for help- and thoughtful comments on this draft. We declare that we have no financial or third-party interests whatsoever with this publication.
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - In this paper, we critically consider the analogy between “infodemic” and “pandemic”, i.e. the spread of fake news about COVID-19 as a medial virus and the infection with the biological virus itself from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory (CET). After confronting three major shortcomings of the ‘infodemic’ concept, we use CET as a background framework to analyze this phenomenon. To do so, we summarize which bi-ases are crucial for transmission in terms of cultural selection and how transmission is restricted by filter bubbles or echo chambers acting as TRIMS (transmission isolating mechanisms) post “infection”, which isolate false from trustworthy scientific information in the context of the Corona pandemic. This is followed by a demonstration of the threat to biological fitness posed by the effects of an infection with fake news, which leads to a reduced willingness to vaccinate and follow health measures. We identify fake news on Covid as pseudoscience, trying to immunize itself from external influences. We then address the question of how to combat the infodemic. Since debunking strategies, such as warnings by fact-checking, have proven relatively ineffective in combating fake news, the inoculation theory from psychology might offer an alternative solution. Through its underlying ‘prebunking strategy’, which educates individuals about the risks and tactics of fake news prior to a potential infection, they could be ‘immunized’ in advance, similar to a virological vaccination. Although we recognize that the pandemic/infodemic analogy is in fact far from perfect, we believe that CET could provide a theoretical underpinning in order to give much more semantic depth to the concept ‘infodemic’.
AB - In this paper, we critically consider the analogy between “infodemic” and “pandemic”, i.e. the spread of fake news about COVID-19 as a medial virus and the infection with the biological virus itself from the perspective of cultural evolutionary theory (CET). After confronting three major shortcomings of the ‘infodemic’ concept, we use CET as a background framework to analyze this phenomenon. To do so, we summarize which bi-ases are crucial for transmission in terms of cultural selection and how transmission is restricted by filter bubbles or echo chambers acting as TRIMS (transmission isolating mechanisms) post “infection”, which isolate false from trustworthy scientific information in the context of the Corona pandemic. This is followed by a demonstration of the threat to biological fitness posed by the effects of an infection with fake news, which leads to a reduced willingness to vaccinate and follow health measures. We identify fake news on Covid as pseudoscience, trying to immunize itself from external influences. We then address the question of how to combat the infodemic. Since debunking strategies, such as warnings by fact-checking, have proven relatively ineffective in combating fake news, the inoculation theory from psychology might offer an alternative solution. Through its underlying ‘prebunking strategy’, which educates individuals about the risks and tactics of fake news prior to a potential infection, they could be ‘immunized’ in advance, similar to a virological vaccination. Although we recognize that the pandemic/infodemic analogy is in fact far from perfect, we believe that CET could provide a theoretical underpinning in order to give much more semantic depth to the concept ‘infodemic’.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cultural evolution
KW - Fake news
KW - Infodemic
KW - Inoculation
KW - Pandemic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173585562&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10539-023-09928-8
DO - 10.1007/s10539-023-09928-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173585562
VL - 38
JO - Biology and Philosophy
JF - Biology and Philosophy
SN - 0169-3867
IS - 5
M1 - 42
ER -