Emerging Gender Themes of the Covid-19 Infodemic in Southeast Asia

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting social inequities, including those based on gender. During the pandemic, scientific evidence and evidence-based guidance on Covid-19 diagnosis, treatment, and prevention were rapidly developed and disseminated, including through online channels. The pandemic generated unprecedented levels of online conversations by digital media users. As with other issues, misinformation and rumors spread online rapidly, especially through social media, producing an “infodemic.” This chapter analyzes the few digital conversations around gender that emerged from the top and “rising” topics from over a year of weekly infodemic intelligence reports during the pandemic, generated through artificial intelligence-based analysis, from the WHO South-East Asia Region. The themes analyzed include women and work, reproductive health, violence against women, women-dominated marginalized groups, and gendered stigma and discrimination. Overall, the analysis found limited gender-related content in the top infodemic topics. Where gender featured, mentions tended to reflect traditional concerns, such as misinformation about how Covid-19 affected pregnant women and their children, rather than evidence-informed, gender-responsive guidance—except in posts by development partners, governments, or experts. Whether evidence-informed advice is followed in a pandemic can impact the effectiveness of mitigation measures. It is, therefore, crucial to understand public perceptions and concerns about the pandemic and whether the public had accurate or inaccurate information. Ensuring access to accurate information is particularly important for vulnerable groups, including women. This chapter’s findings hold potential for the more systematic use of risk- and evidence-based approaches to infodemic management during future health emergencies to inform more effective and gender-responsive risk communication.