A Cognitive Approach to Understanding and Mitigating a Pernicious Infodemic

Health misinformation and disinformation have been the bane of public health professionals for more than 100 years. The recent lethal COVID-19 infodemic of disinformation undermined the credibility of science and medicine, along with critical public health efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Social media continues to be the primary vehicle for spreading misinformation or disinformation, fostering uncertainty and skepticism in scientific evidence-based best practices and policies, resulting in high levels of anxiety, paranoia, and delusional thinking. This chapter considers cognitive, social, and cultural factors that make individuals receptive to anti-science or conspiratorial ideas. We also consider cognitive approaches, such as human-computer interaction, to monitor and diminish the impact of disinformation on social media. The pernicious infodemic remains a significant threat to public health 3 years into the pandemic. However, there are a growing number of solution strategies to mitigate the problem, and there has been incremental progress.