False Information Literacy During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is a confusing time. Because COVID-19 was a new evolution of a virus, much of the information surrounding it was ever-evolving. Although a vaccine was quickly developed, and it was approved by the FDA for emergency use, people were still skeptical of its efficacy and safety. Malicious internet users chose to spread mis- and disinformation about the vaccine. An explosion of information literacy has accompanied the spread of misinformation. Specifically, people used the internet to combat misinformation and spread true information about both the virus and its corresponding vaccine. By using a case study of an article, I choose to explore the methods in which malicious users spread misinformation and specifically the language used to spread this misinformation. While doctors and other public health experts have used the internet to argue against misinformation, malicious users have also used their medical qualifications, applicable or otherwise, to demonstrate credibility. Similarly, arguments such as “believe science” or “trust the evidence” have been twisted to spread misinformation. Finally, visualizations showing a false relationship between otherwise-unrelated topics spread quickly. While information literacy is an important tool, malicious users have co-opted the language used to obtain credibility. Identifying the forms that this false information literacy takes is one step in understanding how to combat it.