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Spreading (Dis)Trust: Covid-19 Misinformation and Government Intervention in Italy
[journal article]
Abstract The commentary focuses on the spread of Covid-19 misinformation in Italy, highlighting the dynamics that have impacted on its pandemic communication. Italy has recently been affected by a progressive erosion of trust in public institutions and a general state of information crisis regarding matters ... view more
The commentary focuses on the spread of Covid-19 misinformation in Italy, highlighting the dynamics that have impacted on its pandemic communication. Italy has recently been affected by a progressive erosion of trust in public institutions and a general state of information crisis regarding matters of health and science. In this context, the politicization of health issues and a growing use of social media to confront the Coronavirus “infodemic” have led the Italian Ministry of Health to play a strategic role in using its official Facebook page to mitigate the spread of misinformation and to offer updates to online publics. Despite this prompt intervention, which increased the visibility and reliability of public health communication, coordinated efforts involving different institutions, media and digital platform companies still seem necessary to reduce the impact of misinformation, as using a multichannel strategy helps avoid increasing social and technological disparities at a time of crisis.... view less
Keywords
Italy; health; communication; social media; credibility; false report; health policy
Classification
Health Policy
Media Contents, Content Analysis
Free Keywords
Coronavirus; Covid-19; emergency; misinformation; public communication
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 458-461
Journal
Media and Communication, 8 (2020) 2
Issue topic
Health and Science Controversies in the Digital World: News, Mis/Disinformation and Public Engagement
ISSN
2183-2439
Status
Published Version; reviewed