The ‘infodemic’ infodemic: Toward a more nuanced understanding of truth-claims and the need for (not) combatting misinformation

Abstract

(Mis)information scholarship struggles to assist policy actors in assessing the relative accuracy of science-related truth claims as well as their potential threat. This limited ability to produce translational research stems in part from conceptualizations of dis- and misinformation that pay insufficient attention to an information ecosystem in which defining “accuracy” is complicated by intersecting uncertainties associated with the nature of science, sociopolitical climates, and media systems. These uncertainties introduce compounding error in accuracy assessments, and they demand more nuanced understandings of mis- and disinformation than those which currently underlie discussions of the “infodemic.” Here, we propose a framework for evaluating claims in terms of a collection of intersecting attributes beset by uncertainty. We apply our framework to real-world examples and conclude by discussing implications for research and action on (mis)information in a socio-scientific world where true and false claims are not as distinct as they are sometimes purported to be.</p