Fighting infodemic: Need for robust health journalism in India

Abstract

Background and aims: Communication plays an important role in advancing public health goals as well as in greater appreciation of underlying science and public policies. It is critical at all times, be it promoting health benefits of immunisation, importance of hand hygiene or taking personal measures for prevention of non-communicable diseases. Communication assumes even greater importance in the time of emergencies like the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. A primary vehicle for health communication is mass media like television channels, newspapers and radio channels.

Methods: An analysis of current trends shows that the messages emerging from mass media are getting further amplified and dispersed through digital outlets and social media platforms which have become immensely popular. This has also given rise to a new phenomenon called infodemic or over-abundance of information - both genuine and fake.

Results: The article examines role of mass media in health communication in times of pandemic and the context of infodemic.

Conclusions: The analysis points to the need for improvement in health journalism to improve its quality, credibility as well as relevance in a country like India where mass media consumption is high and health literacy is low.

Keywords: Fake news; Infodemic; Newspapers; Pandemic; Television channels.