Fact-checking as risk communication: the multi-layered risk of misinformation in times of COVID-19

TLDR

The COVID‑19 pandemic has spurred widespread misinformation, which functions as a meta‑risk that complicates public perception of the virus. The authors argue that COVID‑19 misinformation should be treated as a multi‑layered risk communication problem that requires insights from risk‑communication research. They outline how risk‑communication theory can guide fact‑checking of COVID‑19 misinformation and provide practical recommendations.

Abstract

The emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus has led to more than a pandemic—indeed, COVID-19 is spawning myriad other concerns as it rapidly marches around the globe. One of these concerns is a surge of misinformation, which we argue should be viewed as a risk in its own right, and to which insights from decades of risk communication research must be applied. Further, when the subject of misinformation is itself a risk, as in the case of COVID-19, we argue for the utility of viewing the problem as a multi-layered risk communication problem. In such circumstances, misinformation functions as a meta-risk that interacts with and complicates publics' perceptions of the original risk. Therefore, as the COVID-19 "misinfodemic" intensifies, risk communication research should inform the efforts of key risk communicators. To this end, we discuss the implications of risk research for efforts to fact-check COVID-19 misinformation and offer practical recommendations.