UN supports journalists to counter disinformation, fake news and ensure their safety during COVID-19
01 May 2020
- While the COVID-19 outbreak is a global public health crisis, it has led to a parallel pandemic of disinformation that directly impacts lives and
livelihoods around the world. - Falsehoods and misinformation have proven deadly and sowed confusion about life-saving personal and policy choices.
In the current crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, media workers are as vital as other essential professionals. Accurate information saves lives. In times of crises, news media, data journalism, fact checkers and investigative reporting shed light, whereas disinformation, spreads darkness, fear and a chain of bad decisions. In fulfilling their role, journalists around the world are to cope with unprecedented professional challenges ranging from switching to health-coverage for those who had no previous specialization, to ensuring their own health safety, while seeking to counter the spread of misinformation in what has been defined the first ‘disinfodemic’.
Against this backdrop, and since the outbreak of the pandemic, the UN in Lebanon scaled up efforts to counter the growing surge of misinformation that is impeding access to trustworthy sources and reliable information. Coining the massive disinformation around COVID-19 as a “disinfodemic”, the UN in Lebanon embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at working for truth and combating fake news.
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