Should we counter misinformation?
Misinformation has been a vast and challenging issue throughout recent years, with the potential threat of it occurring only increasing. The impact of misleading information has been raised into the public attention especially in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous hazardous unscientific practices and conspiracy theories gaining track.
Additionally, it is not unknown that deception can be used for malicious purposes – both by governments and individuals. Authoritarian states such as Russia and China utilised disinformation related to COVID-19 in order to achieve political gains, as described by the Center for European Policy Analysis (Dubow, Lucas, and Morris, 2021).
Conclusively, it seems the discussion on the topic is urgent and needed, if not inevitable. Some ma...