Infodemic control tactics at the initial stage: experience of China.

Abstract

The article analyzes the reasons for the spread of infodemic narratives in China’s social media in late 2019 – first half of 2020. It was at the initial stage of the coronavirus pandemic that social media users, living in a state of heightened anxiety, became the sources that spread unverified information about the coronavirus and actions taken by the authorities, due to the fact that the state media and government officials kept silent about the new disease. Based on the materials analyzed, the author concludes that infodemic is a natural process that accompanies any global medical crisis, and social media play a major role in this process. In order to increase public trust in the authorities and official media, China has implemented a four-stage model, according to which state structures should respond to misinformation on social media, as well as used the experience gained before the pandemic to deal with fake news. All these actions have led to a significant reduction in the number of infodemic narratives on social media.