Abstract
Research on infodemics, i.e., the rapid spread of (mis)information related to a hazardous event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, requires integrating a multiplicity of scientific disciplines. The dynamics emerging from infodemics have the potential to generate complex behavioral patterns. To react appropriately, it is of ultimate importance for the fields of Business and Economics to understand these dynamics. In the short run, they might lead to an adaptation in household spending or to a shift in buying behavior towards online providers. In the long run, changes in investments, consumer behavior, and markets are to be expected. We argue that the dynamics emerge from complex interactions among multiple factors, such as information and misinformation accessible to individuals and the formation and revision of beliefs. (Mis)information accessible to individuals is, amongst others, affected by algorithms specifically designed to provide personalized information, while automated fact-checking algorithms can help reduce the amount of circulating misinformation. The formation and revision of individual (and probably false) beliefs and individual fact-checking and interpretation of information are heavily affected by linguistic patterns inherent to information during pandemics and infodemics and further factors, such as affect, intuition, and motives. We argue that, to get a deep(er) understanding of the dynamics emerging from infodemics, the fields of Business and Economics should integrate the perspectives of Computer Science and Information Systems, (Computational) Linguistics, and Cognitive Science into the wider context of economic systems (e.g., organizations, markets or industries) and propose a way to do so. As research on infodemics is a strongly interdisciplinary field and the integration of the above-mentioned disciplines is a first step towards a holistic approach, we conclude with a call to action which should encourage researchers to collaborate across scientific disciplines and unfold collective creativity, which will substantially advance research on infodemics.
Highlights
In the past few months, we have all witnessed the short-term responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as extensive lockdowns in both the private and the professional spheres
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can observe that infodemics often have negative effects on individual behavior and on the efficiency of counter-measures deployed by policy-makers (World Health Organization 2018): A prominent example for the rapid spread ofinformation is the extensive promotion of hydroxychloroquine as treatment for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in social media without reliable evidence of its efficacy and secondary effects, which was followed by an emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a significant increase in prescriptions (Baker et al 2020a; Lenzer 2020)
The dynamics emerging from infodemics can be complex, result in adverse individual behavior and might render policies to contain the effects of hazardous events inefficient
Summary
In the past few months, we have all witnessed the short-term responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as extensive lockdowns in both the private and the professional spheres. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can observe that infodemics often have negative effects on individual behavior and on the efficiency of counter-measures deployed by policy-makers (World Health Organization 2018): A prominent example for the rapid spread of (mis)information is the extensive promotion of hydroxychloroquine as treatment for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in social media without reliable evidence of its efficacy and secondary effects, which was followed by an emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a significant increase in prescriptions (Baker et al 2020a; Lenzer 2020). Previous studies suggest that some shifts in both short- and long-term behavior, as outlined above, are driven by false beliefs (Bernstein et al 2005; Geraerts et al 2008), i.e., by an individual belief or view of the world which does not match reality
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