"This chapter discusses two cases of new media formats combining journalistic skills, creativity and innovation when communicating risk and acting against disinfodemic, the collaborative website ‘Talato’ for fact-checking on the coronavirus in CAR and the fact-checking online platform ‘Congo C
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heck’ in the DRC. Their accounts feed the discussion of how disinfodemic is spreading in the region and how their communication strategies are serving as riposte against this major threat. The chapter sheds light to how these independent initiatives contribute to halt the pandemic disinfodemic in their localities. It moreover reveals fact-checking procedures and obstacles faced when journalists attempt to access verifiable and official information in settings where press is not entirely free to operate." (Abstract)
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"Mittels einer Onlineumfrage und Publikumsgesprächen wurde bei seh- und hörbeeinträchtigten Personen ermittelt, welche Medienangebote sie nutzen und wie sie diese beurteilen. Die barrierefreien Angebote im öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk werden grundsätzlich sehr geschätzt. Es wird aber auch V
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erbesserungspotenzial und der Wunsch nach einer Ausweitung der Angebote benannt. Auch konkrete Informationen über barrierefreie Angebote gilt es zu optimieren." (Seite 109)
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"This Information Ecosystem Assessment documents how information around the COVID-19 pandemic is produced, consumed, and shared in Sudan contributing to the existence of multiple and overlapping information sub-systems within the supply side of the broader ecosystem. The findings show how the centra
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lization of news production, as well as power and resources, leads to the development of these sometimes-competing subsystems. This is evident through data collected from marginalized groups, such as displaced communities (refugees, IDPs, migrants) and those in communities that host them, who are not targeted by official supply mechanisms of information." (Executive summary)
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"This article provides a case study of an information campaign directed at people of Somali decent living in the worst hit district of Oslo, the capital of Norway. The Somalis were the immigrant group most affected by the COVID-19 in Norway during the first wave of the pandemic. The campaign used se
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lected Somali-speaking ‘ambassadors’ as well as videos and network methodology to reach those within the Somali population who are least integrated into Norwegian society. The lessons learned from this case may both inform the theory of information campaigns and provide practical lessons learned for other groups in later high-risk information-need situations." (Abstract)
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"The COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown have made community radio broadcasting more important than before. Using case studies and interviews, we explored the kind of programming adopted by selected community radio (CR) stations in India during the pandemic and how they fight fake news. We
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also analyzed other issues they addressed during this period. We identified more dedicated programming services concerning COVID-19, fake news, and mental health using two-way communication by CR stations. The latter shared personalized and fact-checked information disseminated to the community. Issues related to rising domestic violence and mental health were also highlighted in their broadcast during the nationwide lockdown. Fake news percolated quickly in the communities where most members are illiterate and have little access to fact-checked information. CR stations indeed play a pivotal role in engaging the community in verifying fake news through personalized storytelling, using folk and traditional media, and engaging COVID-19 warriors from the community to authenticate the information." (Abstract)
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"Do emotions we experience after reading headlines help us discern true from false information or cloud our judgement? Understanding whether emotions are associated with distinguishing truth from fiction and sharing information has implications for interventions designed to curb the spread of misinf
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ormation. Among 1,341 Facebook users in Nigeria, we find that emotions—specifically happiness and surprise—are associated with greater belief in and sharing of false, relative to true, COVID-19 headlines. Respondents who are older are more reflective, and do not support the ruling party are better at discerning true from false COVID-19 information."
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"COVID-19 created a substantial set of challenges for health communication practitioners in the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating entertainment-education (EE) campaigns. EE is a theory and evidence-based communication strategy that employs entertainment media for educational messagin
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g. Here, we briefly review EE campaigns in response to previous health emergencies and present three cases of EE responses to the COVID-19 pandemic from leading global organizations (PCI Media, BBC Media Action, and Sesame Workshop). Responses ranged from adaptation and re-distribution of existing content to creating new content under social-distancing restrictions and utilizing transmedia. These cases demonstrate that EE initiatives responding to future pandemics may be well served by starting with existing infrastructure to quickly build capacity, support, and trust; working with partners to tailor programs to the local context; and continuing to focus on good storytelling while simultaneously considering evolving media formats and theory." (Abstract)
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"This article explores the uses of sources in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in social media posts of mainstream news organizations in Brazil, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. Based on computational content analysis, our study analyzes the sources and actors present in more t
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han 940,000 posts on COVID-19 published in the 227 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts of 78 sampled news outlets between January 1 and December 31 of 2020, comparing their relative importance across countries, across media platforms, and across time as the pandemic evolved in each country. The analysis shows the dominance of political sources across countries and platforms, particularly in Latin America, demonstrating a strong role of the state in constructing pandemic news and suggesting that mainstream news organizations' social media posts maintain a strong elite orientation. Health sources were also prominent — consistent with the defining role of biomedical authority in health coverage—, while significant diversity of sources, including citizen sources, emerged as the pandemic went on. Our results also revealed that the use of specific sources significantly varied over time. These variations tend to go hand in hand with specific global milestones of the pandemic." (Abstract)
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"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on health systems and economies around the world. This is particularly true for developing and newly industrialized countries that often have to deal with poverty and inadequate health systems. A greater awareness of COVID-19 and its consequences, genera
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ted and fostered by journalistic health reporting, may contribute to better preparations. The societal importance of journalistic health reporting and its challenges in sub-Saharan societies during the pandemic are examined. A qualitative research design relying on interviews with representatives of African science and health journalism organizations is employed. The results show that health reporting during health crises can provide a variety of normative functions of journalism in democracies and in autocratic developing and newly industrialized countries, but it presents many challenges for journalists and media houses. COVID-19 also offers starting points for global media assistance in strengthening and improving health reporting in the long term." (Abstract)
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"El presente reporte se enfoca en el proyecto “Comunicar el autocuidado – Pueblos IndÃgenas frente al Covid-19", implementado en la Costa Caribe Colombiana, desde abril 2020 hasta marzo 2021. Por medio de este proyecto, Internews apoyó y fortaleció las capacidades de comunicación de las comu
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nidades indÃgenas Wayúu y Zenú de la costa caribeña colombiana a través de la producción y difusión de contenidos para prevenir y gestionar la pandemia. Las actividades tenÃan un enfoque pedagógico sobre los derechos a la salud, basado en la cosmovisión y las prácticas culturales de las comunidades Wayúu y Zenú. En este reporte usted podrá encontrar los hitos principales del proyecto, el contexto de la región y las comunidades involucradas, las lecciones aprendidas para el futuro, las actividades realizadas, al igual que el impacto del proyecto." (https://internews.org)
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"This quick start guide was developed to support FHI 360 programs and its partners to design and implement demand creation and advocacy activities as part of national COVID-19 vaccine introduction efforts. The guide draws primarily on FHI 360’s experience designing and implementing SBC programs to
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promote uptake of health products and services, including vaccination services, but also borrows from other global tools, including those developed by WHO and UNICEF. This resource can be used by SBC practitioners as a step-by-step guide to take them from defining and understanding local SBC needs to implementing and adjusting activities to respond to changing conditions. Importantly, the guide will be continued to be adapted, and design and implementation tools will be added and updated to ensure the guide and its components remain current and useful." (Page 2)
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"In this manual, we discuss key disability issues, key messages and principles for journalists wanting to support the human rights of Africans with disabilities. The manual also deals with terminology - it is about using words and that puts the person rather than the disability first. Jounalists wil
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l learn how to create disability programs that resonate with their audiences and encourage wider PwDs (Persons with Disability) participation at every level of the society despite the barriers they must deal with [...] This manual has been developed for handling the workshops based on the contents of the guide. It provides guidelines and tools for a three-day workshop on the guide." (Pages 3-4)
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"Digital technology, while an important enabler of many COVID-19 mitigation measures, has also contributed to the rise of misinformation and disinformation surrounding the pandemic. The circulation of rumours, conspiracy theories, false claims and misconceptions about the novel coronavirus has had a
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pronounced impact on the world. Leveraging digital tools to facilitate access to reliable (and potentially life-saving) information and reduce exposure to misinformation and disinformation is a new skill that policy makers and communities at large need to master in the context of the events of the past two years.
Some efforts have been successful, while others have faced challenges and stalled. While the situation remains globally fluid and continues to evolve, it is possible to conclude that there is a wealth of innovative applications of ICT for infodemic management. The choice, design and implementation of any given solution or strategy need to be supported through a number of steps that should be coordinated and comprehensive in scope." (Conclusion, page 60)
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"Influenza and COVID-19 are infectious diseases with significant burdens. Information and awareness on preventative techniques can be spread through the use of social media, which has become an increasingly utilized tool in recent years. This study developed a dynamic transmission model to investiga
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te the impact of social media, particularly tweets via the social networking platform, Twitter on the number of influenza and COVID-19 cases of infection and deaths. We modified the traditional Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR-V) model with an additional social media component, in order to increase the accuracy of transmission dynamics and gain insight on whether social media is a beneficial behavioral intervention for these infectious diseases. The analysis found that social media has a positive effect in mitigating the spread of contagious disease in terms of peak time, peak magnitude, total infected, and total death; and the results also showed that social media’s effect has a non-linear relationship with the reproduction number R 0 and it will be amplified when a vaccine is available. The findings indicate that social media is an integral part in the humanitarian logistics of pandemic and emergency preparedness, and contributes to the literature by informing best practices in the response to similar disasters." (Abstract)
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