Abstract
Simple SummaryIn recent years, fake scientific news has spread much faster through the Internet and social media within the so-called “infodemic”. African swine fever (ASF) is a perfect case study to prove how fake news can undermine the public health response, even in the veterinary field. ASF is a contagious infective disease exclusively affecting domestic and wild pigs such as wild boars. ASF can cause social damages and economic losses both directly (due to the high mortality rate) and indirectly (due to international sanctions). Although ASF is not a threat to human health, since 2018, newspapers have often reported false or misleading news, ranging from misinterpreted findings/data to fake or alarmistic news. In some cases, fake news was spread, such as the use of snipers at the border of nations to kill wild boars or the possible risks to human health. In order to provide real and fact-based news on epidemics, some organizations have created easy-to-read infographic and iconographic materials, available on their websites, to help the readers identifying the fake news.In recent years, fake scientific news has spread much faster through the Internet and social media within the so-called “infodemic”. African Swine Fever (ASF) is a perfect case study to prove how fake news can undermine the public health response, even in the veterinary field. ASF is a highly contagious infective disease affecting exclusively domestic and wild pigs such as wild boars. ASF can cause social damage and economic losses both directly (due to the high mortality rate) and indirectly (due to international sanctions). Although ASF is not a threat to human health, since 2018 newspapers have often reported false or misleading news, ranging from misinterpreted findings/data to fake or alarmistic news. In some cases, fake news was spread, such as the use of snipers at the border of nations to kill wild boars, or those reports concerning possible risks to human health. In order to provide real and fact-based news on epidemics, some organizations have created easy-to-read infographic and iconographic materials, available on their websites, to help the readers identifying the fake news. Indeed, it is crucial that governments and scientific organizations work against fear and anxiety, using simple and clear communication.
Highlights
The Internet and social media have helped to spread news and information by breaking down geographical and temporal barriers, allowing people to be constantly updated on any topic [1]
The paper denounced that the Sputniknews.it wrote about the African swine fever virus (ASFV) outbreak in Lithuania and other two Baltic states (“the disease was caused by the Pentagon working out its strategy and tactics of biological war”) and the article referred even to a possible origin of the virus in the laboratory because of the “resilience to the cold Northern climate” which “proves that it was developed in a biological laboratory and that the U.S military bio-lab Fort Detrick is involved because offensive infection agents are developed there”
Fake news released from mass media can be considered as a “virus” that spreads among all those who are subjected to the disinformation [19], and recently, during the COVID-19 crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the world is not “just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic”, caused by the propagation of conspiracy theories, and misinformation about the pandemic [12]
Summary
The Internet and social media have helped to spread news and information by breaking down geographical and temporal barriers, allowing people to be constantly updated on any topic [1]. When the source is mediated by an algorithm, the digital media platforms act as intermediaries and readers randomly access the news [7], without knowing the source [5]. This happens especially for scientific news when a specific background is required to completely understand the topic, whether in the medical or veterinary field [8–10]. Readers who embrace the disinformation believe that health policies are not written by scientists but by “conspirators who act in secret for their own personal gain, and not for the interests of all and the public health” [17] This misbelief pushes proselytes to merge, guided by a group leader who often acts for her or her own personal benefit [21]. This paper aims to describe the specific pseudoscientific news spread regarding the ASF epidemic and presents easy-to-access websites, blogs and papers useful to unveil nonscientific sources and how to counteract them
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