Fact-checking as risk communication: the multi-layered risk of misinformation in times of COVID-19

Abstract

The emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus has led to more than a pandemic—indeed, COVID-19 is spawning myriad other concerns as it rapidly marches around the globe. One of these concerns is a surge of misinformation, which we argue should be viewed as a risk in its own right, and to which insights from decades of risk communication research must be applied. Further, when the subject of misinformation is itself a risk, as in the case of COVID-19, we argue for the utility of viewing the problem as a multi-layered risk communication problem. In such circumstances, misinformation functions as a meta-risk that interacts with and complicates publics’ perceptions of the original risk. Therefore, as the COVID-19 “misinfodemic” intensifies, risk communication research should inform the efforts of key risk communicators. To this end, we discuss the implications of risk research for efforts to fact-check COVID-19 misinformation and offer practical recommendations.