Understanding the Causes and Consequence of COVID-19 Information Crisis in Africa: Defining an Agenda for Effective Social Media Engagement During Health Pandemics

Abstract

The chapter argues that the COVID-19 information crisis in Africa needs to be understood within the extant global ‘disinformation order,’ which is characterized by distorted information flow, the preponderance of fake news, and the general dysfunctions of the social media. Recommendations for enhancing science-driven communication are proposed. The chapter further contends that COVID-19 information context was compounded by a lack of truth and trust between the public and critical influencers, such as health policymakers, scientists, and the media. From the analysis, the author argues that lessons learned from the crisis should inform future risk communication and engagement of social identities in health behavior. This is consistent with the editorial position of Health Promotion International, which posits that health promotion researchers should learn from analyzing the reactions and documenting the learning (Van den Broucke, 2020, p. 5). It also calls for a robust agenda for leveraging the impact of social media during health emergencies and pandemics. Finally, the chapter underscores the challenge of promoting health behavior among different social identities, especially during contested information ecology and extensive health misinformation on social media and the Internet.