Historically, many diseases have been named after the species or location of discovery, the discovering scientists, or the most impacted population. However, species-specific disease names often misrepresent the true reservoir; location-based disease names are frequently targeted with xenophobia; some of the discovering scientists have darker histories; and impacted populations have been stigmatized for this association. Acknowledging these concerns, the World Health Organization now proposes naming diseases after their causative pathogen or symptomatology. Recently, this guidance has been retrospectively applied to a disease at the center of an outbreak rife with stigmatization and misinformation: mpox (f.k.a. \'monkeypox\'). This disease, historically endemic to west and central Africa, has prompted racist remarks as it spread globally in 2022 in an epidemic ongoing today. Moreover, its elevated prevalence among men who have sex with men has yielded increased stigma against the LGBTQ+ community. To address these prejudicial associations, \'monkeypox\' was renamed \'mpox\' in November 2022. We used publicly available data from Google Search Trends to determine which countries were quicker to adopt this name change-and understand factors that limit or facilitate its use. Specifically, we built regression models to quantify the relationship between \'mpox\' search intensity in a given country and the country\'s type of political regime, robustness of sociopolitical and health systems, level of pandemic preparedness, extent of gender and educational inequalities, and temporal evolution of mpox cases through December 2023. Our results suggest that, when compared to \'monkeypox\' search intensity, \'mpox\' search intensity was significantly higher in countries with any history of mpox outbreaks or higher levels of LGBTQ+ acceptance; meanwhile, \'mpox\' search intensity was significantly lower in countries governed by leaders who had recently propagated infectious disease misinformation. Among infectious diseases with stigmatizing names, mpox is among the first to be revised retrospectively. While the adoption of a given disease name will be context-specific-depending in part on its origins and the affected subpopulations-our study provides generalizable insights, applicable to future changes in disease nomenclature.

This text addresses the implications of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and other drugs based on a specific publication. The article titled \"Deaths induced by compassionate use of hydroxychloroquine during the first COVID-19 wave: an estimate,\" published in 2024 in the journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, reveals 17 000 deaths associated with the inappropriate use of HCQ in 6 countries, excluding Brazil and India. The dissemination of ineffective drugs, the persistence in recommending HCQ in Brazil, and the lack of an effective response from academia underscore the fragility of public health systems under pressure. Transparent communication between the scientific community and the public is vital, particularly considering studies, such as the one published in Nature Communications in 2021, which warns of the risks of chloroquine. The text highlights the influence of social media in spreading unverified information and emphasizes the need for criminal liability for those contributing to the spread of misinformation. It concludes by underlining the importance of learning from past mistakes to build a more resilient and informed future in the field of public health.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is notable among infectious diseases for its distinctive impact, which has halted millions of livelihoods owing to strict social distancing rules and lockdowns. Consequently, millions of individuals have turned to online sources, particularly social media, to remain informed about the virus. The transition to digital sources has resulted in an abundance of information, including both accurate and misleading or false content being shared and consumed on online platforms, contributing to what is commonly referred to as an \"infodemic.\" Although these platforms have been valuable tools for healthcare professionals and public health authorities in disseminating crucial public health messages, they have also aided in the spread of misleading and false information. The widespread dissemination of false information has been instrumental in propagating harmful beliefs and behaviors such as vaccine hesitancy, promoting discriminatory attitudes, and endorsing false beliefs about the efficacy of certain therapeutic products for treating COVID-19. False information has undoubtedly become a challenge and burden for governments, health professionals, and the general population. This review has three main objectives: (1) to assess the scope of the \"infodemic\" issue, including investigating the factors contributing to the spread of false information online; (2) to examine the multifaceted consequences resulting from false information; and (3) to argue that an interdisciplinary, multi-layered approach, encompassing a focus on prevention, deterrence, and education, should be adopted to prevent the conception and dissemination of false information in this modern digital age.

The spread of false and misleading information in online social networks is a global problem in need of urgent solutions. It is also a policy problem because misinformation can harm both the public and democracies. To address the spread of misinformation, policymakers require a successful interface between science and policy, as well as a range of evidence-based solutions that respect fundamental rights while efficiently mitigating the harms of misinformation online. In this article, we discuss how regulatory and nonregulatory instruments can be informed by scientific research and used to reach EU policy objectives. First, we consider what it means to approach misinformation as a policy problem. We then outline four building blocks for cooperation between scientists and policymakers who wish to address the problem of misinformation: understanding the misinformation problem, understanding the psychological drivers and public perceptions of misinformation, finding evidence-based solutions, and co-developing appropriate policy measures. Finally, through the lens of psychological science, we examine policy instruments that have been proposed in the EU, focusing on the strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation 2022.

BACKGROUND: As of December 2022, the outbreak of COVID-19 showed no sign of abating, continuing to impact people\'s lives, livelihoods, economies, and more. Vaccination is an effective way to achieve mass immunity. However, in places such as Japan, where vaccination is voluntary, there are people who choose not to receive the vaccine, even if an effective vaccine is offered. To promote vaccination, it is necessary to clarify what kind of information on social media can influence attitudes toward vaccines.
OBJECTIVE: False rumors and counterrumors are often posted and spread in large numbers on social media, especially during emergencies. In this paper, we regard tweets that contain questions or point out errors in information as counterrumors. We analyze counterrumors tweets related to the COVID-19 vaccine on Twitter. We aimed to answer the following questions: (1) what kinds of COVID-19 vaccine-related counterrumors were posted on Twitter, and (2) are the posted counterrumors related to social conditions such as vaccination status?
METHODS: We use the following data sets: (1) counterrumors automatically collected by the \"rumor cloud\" (18,593 tweets); and (2) the number of COVID-19 vaccine inoculators from September 27, 2021, to August 15, 2022, published on the Prime Minister\'s Office\'s website. First, we classified the contents contained in counterrumors. Second, we counted the number of COVID-19 vaccine-related counterrumors from data set 1. Then, we examined the cross-correlation coefficients between the numbers of data sets 1 and 2. Through this verification, we examined the correlation coefficients for the following three periods: (1) the same period of data; (2) the case where the occurrence of the suggestion of counterrumors precedes the vaccination (negative time lag); and (3) the case where the vaccination precedes the occurrence of counterrumors (positive time lag). The data period used for the validation was from October 4, 2021, to April 18, 2022.
RESULTS: Our classification results showed that most counterrumors about the COVID-19 vaccine were negative. Moreover, the correlation coefficients between the number of counterrumors and vaccine inoculators showed significant and strong positive correlations. The correlation coefficient was over 0.7 at -8, -7, and -1 weeks of lag. Results suggest that the number of vaccine inoculators tended to increase with an increase in the number of counterrumors. Significant correlation coefficients of 0.5 to 0.6 were observed for lags of 1 week or more and 2 weeks or more. This implies that an increase in vaccine inoculators increases the number of counterrumors. These results suggest that the increase in the number of counterrumors may have been a factor in inducing vaccination behavior.
CONCLUSIONS: Using quantitative data, we were able to reveal how counterrumors influence the vaccination status of the COVID-19 vaccine. We think that our findings would be a foundation for considering countermeasures of vaccination.

This descriptive, observational paper utilizes the comparative case study approach to analyze the application of the HIPE™ Framework to two health campaigns addressing vaccine hesitancy in underserved communities. Exposure to inaccurate/misleading health information impacts vaccination adoption, especially for individuals with low health/digital literacy. Underserved groups-like minority, racial/ethnic, or rural populations-typically have lower literacy and higher rates of vaccine hesitancy. Grounded in persuasion and behavioral change theory, the Health Information Persuasion Exploration (HIPE™) Framework was applied to the Black/Haitian community in Miami-Dade, Florida and the Migrant Agricultural Worker Community in Central Valley, California. The campaigns addressed each community\'s unique characteristics via Detect, Analyze, Design, and Evaluate phases of the HIPE framework. Both campaigns achieved their respective vaccine uptake goals. For Miami-Dade, over 850 vaccinations were administered (the goal was 800 vaccinations), and vaccination rates increased by 25.22%. In Central Valley, vaccination rates for 5-11-year-old children in Merced and Stanislaus counties increased about 20% and 14%, respectively, and overall vaccination rates increased compared to surrounding counties. Discussion of the results and recommendations for future research highlight the potential efficacy of applying the HIPE™ Framework for developing health campaigns and response strategies to improve health outcomes.

Fake news and misinformation on social media platforms are two of the biggest problems of the last few years. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of memory is of fundamental importance to develop specific intervention programs. In this study, 324 white-collar workers viewed Facebook posts focused on coronavirus disease-2019 prevention norms in the workplace. In a within-participants design, we manipulated the message and the source to expose each participant to real news, real news presented by a discounting cue (sleeper effect condition), and fake news. The results show that participants were more susceptible to fake news during a 1-week delayed posttest following a memory recall process. Furthermore, they remembered the message easily, but not the source, which did not differ in the real-news conditions. We discuss the results, mentioning the sleeper effect and fake news theories.

The spread of vaccine misinformation may contribute to vaccine refusal/hesitancy and consequent harms. Nonetheless, censorship is often rejected on the grounds of free expression. This article examines John Stuart Mill\'s influential defence of free expression but finds that his arguments for freedom apply only to normal, reasonably favourable circumstances. In other cases, it may be permissible to restrict freedom, including freedom of speech. Thus, while Mill would ordinarily defend the right to express false views, such as that vaccines cause autism, he might have accepted restrictions on anti-vaccine misinformation during the present pandemic. This illustrates that even the staunchest defenders of free speech can permit temporary restrictions in exceptional circumstances.

Misinformation and disinformation during infectious disease outbreaks can hinder public health responses. This analysis examines comments about masks and COVID-19 vaccines on Twitter during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a content analysis of 6,600 randomly selected English-language tweets, examining tweets for health, political, of societal frames; inclusion of true information, false information, partially true/misleading information, and/or opinion; political components; risk frames; and use of specific types of rumor. We found false and partially false information in 22% of tweets in which we were able to assess veracity. Tweets with misinformation were more likely to mention vaccines, be political in nature, and promote risk elevating messages (p<0.5). We also found false information about vaccines as early as January 2020, nearly a year before COVID-19 vaccines became widely available. These findings highlight a need for new policies and strategies aimed to counter harmful and misleading messaging.

UNASSIGNED: Infodemic management is an integral part of pandemic management. Ghana Health Services (GHS) together with the UNICEF (United Nations International Children\'s Emergency Fund) Country Office have developed a systematic process that effectively identifies, analyzes, and responds to COVID-19 and vaccine-related misinformation in Ghana.
UNASSIGNED: This paper describes an infodemic management system workflow based on digital data collection, qualitative methodology, and human-centered systems to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Ghana with examples of system implementation.
UNASSIGNED: The infodemic management system was developed by the Health Promotion Division of the GHS and the UNICEF Country Office. It uses Talkwalker, a social listening software platform, to collect misinformation on the web. The methodology relies on qualitative data analysis and interpretation as well as knowledge cocreation to verify the findings.
UNASSIGNED: A multi-sectoral National Misinformation Task Force was established to implement and oversee the misinformation management system. Two members of the task force were responsible for carrying out the analysis. They used Talkwalker to find posts that include the keywords related to COVID-19 vaccine-related discussions. They then assessed the significance of the posts on the basis of the engagement rate and potential reach of the posts, negative sentiments, and contextual factors. The process continues by identifying misinformation within the posts, rating the risk of identified misinformation posts, and developing proposed responses to address them. The results of the analysis are shared weekly with the Misinformation Task Force for their review and verification to ensure that the risk assessment and responses are feasible, practical, and acceptable in the context of Ghana.
UNASSIGNED: The paper describes an infodemic management system workflow in Ghana based on qualitative data synthesis that can be used to manage real-time infodemic responses.