What is infodemic and what you can do to fight against it

The World Health Organization has said along with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the world is also battling an "infodemic."

According to an episode of "Digital Matters," the word "infodemic" is "information" and "epidemic" combined in one word.

"Mayroong mga maling impormasyon out there na parang epidemic 'yung effect niya. Ibig sabihin, nakakahawa, kumakalat sa mga tao," said Jason Cabañes, associate professor of communication at De La Salle University.

"Kapag may isang maling impormasyon na kumakalat d'yan at may mga taong tumatanggap nu'n, tapos naniniwala sila, ang nangyayari tulad ng isang sakit, naipapasa nila 'yun sa ibang tao," he said.

Cabañes said spreading false information is more dangerous nowadays because it is easily done with just one click on social media.

Jonathan Ong, associate professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said having a source to the right information is most important especially amid a pandemic.

"Right information is important because it's a matter of life and death particularly for vulnerable people, for people who have to go out there, to risk being infected because their livelihood depends on it, because their family depends on their income," he said.

"Information is all that we need to make those everyday decisions of 'Should I risk going to public transport or should I just walk all the way?'" Ong added.

In the Philippines, a number of fake news went viral amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These include steam inhalation, salt and water as cure to the virus, a number of lockdown news, use of unregistered drug products, spraying disinfectant all over the body, and martial law.

"Kapag kumakalat ang maling impormasyon tungkol sa health, maaaring maniwala tayo rito at maipasa natin sa iba at puwedeng mortal ang effect niya sa atin. Maaaring mamatay tayo dahil doon," Cabañes said.

The Department of Health (DOH) started a Viber community where they release updated information on the COVID-19 situation in the country.

Amid the community quarantine, the Laging Handa press briefing is also held on a daily basis to give updates on the situation.

On the Laging Handa website, they also have a fact-checking page where they indicate whether a piece of news is true or fake.

Ong said this is a "creative execution" but notes that "we have bigger fish to fry."

"Parang low level memes lang din naman 'yung tina-target nila rather than the core issues and the gravest lies and gaslighting that top level officials themselves perpetuate," he said.

Cabanes said it's also difficult to have the government fact-check these information, "because may mga taong naniniwala sa pamahalaan, may mga taong hindi."

"Madalas hindi naman nakikinig 'yung mga tao kasi kung hindi siya nagre-resonate doon sa iniisip nila, kahit totoo pa 'yung sinasabi mo, hindi sila maniniwala," he added.

Authorities have gone after those who start spreading fake news through building the Task Force COVID Kontra Peke of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

As of May 1, 32 individuals were arrested by the police for spreading information and 23 others are under investigation.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) opposed this move as it can possibly be abused and punish those who express criticism against the government.

Fighting against infodemic

Cabañes noted the importance of having "centralized information pero mahalaga rin na on the ground, nagko-communicate 'yung local governments and makikita natin na ang ibang LGU natin very, very responsive."

The Philippines is not the only country fighting against infodemic, but many others have been using technology as a weapon against it.

Taiwan built a FactCheck Center where every department have a group called the "Meme Engineering Team," which identifies misinformation spreading online within just 60 minutes.

In South Korea, citizens receive emergency text alerts on the movements of suspected cases of COVID-19 and the last places they went to. The country is also using a "Corona Map," a real time map to see places with COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, Singapore disseminates information through digital display panels.

Despite technology playing a big role in fighting infodemic, Cabañes said this is not enough to stop the spread of fake news.

"Hindi enough na 'yung mga tech platform ang gumagawa ng paraan para labanan ang disinformation. Mahalaga na ina-address din natin ang disinformation across several fronts," he said.

Cabañes said another way is media information and literacy and countering of disinformation measures.

He also said it is important to give scientists and medical doctors platforms where they can discuss what's the real deal about the virus to the public. —Jannielyn Bigtas/MGP, GMA News