International efforts against the infodemic: some bioethical reflections

Abstract

Disinfodemic works “diametrically against” the concept of a Knowledge Society, destabilizing its deep-layered structural interdependencies. It’s a phenomenon whose costs can be measured in lost human lives. Indeed, without trust and correct information «diagnostic tests go unused, immunization campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not meet their targets, and the virus will continue to thrive» (WHO 2020). Thus, international documents about infodemic management point out the role of listening to communities and the need for flows which aim to actively involve the addressees of institutional communication in order to prevent them from rejecting it. Infodemic management will necessitate a huge level of transdisciplinary synthesis, in this perspective bioethics shall play its part into countering the effect of the disinfodemic.