What Works - Addressing COVID-19 Misinformation: Lessons From The Frontlines In 100 Countries

"...in a world where people have access to an increasingly wide array of information sources, who to trust - and how to convey trusted information to build confidence - is increasingly challenging."

This report makes the case for the need to support media at the local level if COVID-19 misinformation and mistrust, especially in relation to vaccination efforts, are to be tackled effectively. The report draws on Internews' nearly 40 years of experience in supporting news organisations and community activists to make the point that any action around COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout can only be successful if it is coupled with funding and strategies to support trusted local media worldwide. In particular, it demonstrates the need to build trust by going local, working with communities and with the media that is closest to them.

As explained in the report, the challenge to getting the correct information to communities on the ground is a lack of trust in government, health institutions, and science experts. The challenges to public trust, especially in a health crisis, can come in a variety of forms, such as misinformation, disinformation, lack of trust in the organisation delivering information, history of governance in the country, and pressure from other economic factors. Another reason for distrust is a mismatch between communities' experiences and global messaging. This means that simply providing information is not enough; also vital in this equation is how the information is communicated, who delivers the information, and whether it responds to specific public worries.

To address these factors, it is important to work with communities. Internews' experience with humanitarian crises such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the migrant crisis in Europe, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is that "misinformation is most effectively tackled when the response is community-led, and where those who understand and who listen to the fears and concerns of the community are able to debunk rumours, because they are trusted within that community."

As part of its COVID-19 response, and in order to ensure that people received information from sources they trust, Internews supported thousands of organisations that produce COVID-19-related information in 68 countries and in 135 languages. They included small and local news groups, fact-checkers and community leaders, and national media. The work involved rumour tracking and rumour-countering work, as well as training community activists to listen and address misinformation about the pandemic. The key to achieving this level of support was the creation of the Internews Rapid Response Fund. The fund responds directly to the most urgent needs of local media through a small grants programme, coupled with the provision of on-tap expertise from a team of health and science mentors. Mentoring helped keep journalists up to date on scientific information and storytelling techniques.

Based on Internews' experiences dealing with pandemics and epidemics in the past and more recently, the report shares three elements of "what works?" to ensure that information is coming from trusted sources and responds to a community's particular concerns:

1. Act locally
It is essential to "go local" to build trust in health information. Internews' experience shows that listening to, and speaking directly with, local communities is critical for dealing rapidly and effectively with health emergencies. "Establishing who the trusted local messengers are, understanding communities' concerns, and investing in the best ways to address them is one of the most effective investments to be made in supporting health globally." Working in a local context also means that communication uses a language that communities understand and tells stories using words that are easily comprehended.

The report offers examples from Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to highlight the importance of going local. For example, in the DRC, Internews tackled vaccine hesitancy and health misinformation around Ebola by working with the Motorbike Riders Association, as they were identified as an organisation that could influence young people, who had been resistant to warnings around Ebola. In Afghanistan, being on the ground meant Internews could quickly debunk rumours being spread by a traditional healer that COVID-19 could be cured by taking opium mixed with other compounds.

2. Invest in local already trusted media
The report stresses that local media play a vital role in acting as trusted communicators of information. However, engaging local media is more difficult than ever, as they are struggling to survive with ever-dwindling revenue sources. To address this problem, Internews, through the Rapid Response Fund, awarded more than 180 grants to projects including specialised local-language health bulletins and community-specific websites. In addition to providing financial support, improving the skills of local journalists to report on health issues is key. This need is especially relevant in situations where the government refuses to provide access to information and where investigative skills are needed to sift through misleading or opaque information. Internews also provided workshops and toolkits to help journalists decipher misleading information and verify government facts and figures. One example of support cited in the report is from Ecuador, where the fund supported GK, an independent media outlet, to publish a special report in response to the issue of women experiencing increased levels of abuse at home during the pandemic.

3. Use social media for good
Social media has been blamed for spreading much of the false information related to COVID-19. Ideas can spread quickly without challenge, and it is difficult to identify "trustworthy" information sources. However, as stated in the report, social platforms can also be used successfully to counter misinformation. The report cites an example from Haiti, where Internews worked with Action Pour Le Climat Environnement et la Développment Durable (Adledd), described here as a trusted journalism group with a major presence on WhatsApp, to distribute video interviews with local epidemiologists via WhatsApp to tackle misinformation and a rumour that COVID-19 was a disease that wouldn't affect Haitians.

In conclusion, the report makes the point that COVAX, the massive international effort to deliver vaccines to lower-income countries, "will fail if the communications challenges that accompany it - including vaccine hesitancy brought on by a flood of misinformation - are not addressed locally, country by country, community by community. Doing so will pay dividends, and result in higher numbers of people taking safety measures, and a higher proportion of the population staying well."