scholarly journals Re-thinking Information Ethics: Truth, Conspiracy Theories, and Librarians in the COVID-19 Era

Libri ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Peter Lor ◽  
Bradley Wiles ◽  
Johannes Britz
Keyword(s):  
Public Information ◽  
Information Provision ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Unique Challenge ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Ethical Basis

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is an international public health crisis without precedent in the last century. The novelty and rapid spread of the virus have added a new urgency to the availability and distribution of reliable information to help curb its fatal potential. As seasoned and trusted purveyors of reliable public information, librarians have attempted to respond to the “infodemic” of fake news, disinformation, and propaganda with a variety of strategies, but the COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique challenge because of the deadly stakes involved. The seriousness of the current situation requires that librarians and associated professionals re-evaluate the ethical basis of their approach to information provision to counter the growing prominence of conspiracy theories in the public sphere and official decision making. This paper analyzes the conspiracy mindset and specific COVID-19 conspiracy theories in discussing how libraries might address the problems of truth and untruth in ethically sound ways. As a contribution to the re-evaluation we propose, the paper presents an ethical framework based on alethic rights—or rights to truth—as conceived by Italian philosopher Franca D’Agostini and how these might inform professional approaches that support personal safety, open knowledge, and social justice.

scholarly journals Ethics and Economics of Medical Supplies in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (31) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Hansong Li ◽  
Yifei Wu
Keyword(s):  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Medical Supplies ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Ethics And Economics ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Critical Resources

Background: The distribution of healthcare resources across local and global communities has triggered alarms throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Injustice and inefficiency in the transfer of lifesaving medical supplies are magnified by the urgency of the public health crisis, ramified through pre-existing socioeconomic tensions, and further aggravated by frictions that plague international cooperation and global governance. Aim: This article explores the ethical and economic dimensions of medical supplies, from the microcosm of distributive algorithms to the macroscope of medical trade. Methods: It first analyses the performance, strategy, and social responsibility of ventilator-suppliers through a series of case studies. Then, the authors seek to redress the need-insensitivity of existing distributive models with a new price-based and need-conscious algorithm. Next, the paper empirically traces the exchange of medical supplies across borders, examines the effect of trade disputes on medical reliance and pandemic preparedness, and makes a game-theoretical case for sharing critical resources with foreign communities. Conclusion: The authors argue that the equitable allocation of medical supplies must consider the contexts and conditions of need; that political barriers to medical transfers undermine a government’s capacity to contain the contagion by reducing channels of access to medical goods; and that self-interested public policies often turn out to be counterproductive geopolitical strategies. In the post-pandemic world, the prospect of medical justice demands a balanced ethical and economic approach that cuts across the borders of nation-states and the bounds of the private sector and the public sphere.

scholarly journals “I did my own research”: Overconfidence, (dis)trust in science and conspiracy theories endorsement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vranic ◽  
Ivana Hromatko ◽  
Mirjana Tonković
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Health Related

<p>Epistemically suspect beliefs, such as endorsement of conspiracy theories or pseudoscientific claims are widespread even among highly educated individuals. The phenomenon of conspiratorial thinking is not new, yet the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a global health crisis of an unprecedented scale, facilitated the emergence and rapid spread of some rather radical health related pseudoscientific fallacies. Numerous correlates of the tendency to endorse conspiracy theories have already been addressed. However, many of them are not subject to an intervention. Here, we have tested a model that includes predictors ranging across stable characteristics such as demographics (gender, age, education, size of the place of residence), less stable general traits such as conservatism and overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities, to relatively changeable worldviews such as trust in science. A hierarchical regression analysis (<i>N</i>=859 participants) showed that included predictors explained a total of 46% of the variance of believing in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, with only gender, overconfidence and trust in science yielding significance. Trust in science was the strongest predictor, implying that campaigns aimed at enhancing public trust in both science as a process, and scientists as individuals conducting it, might contribute to the reduction in susceptibility to pseudoscientific claims. Furthermore, overconfidence in one’s own reasoning abilities was negatively correlated with an objective measure of reasoning (syllogisms test), and positively with the endorsement of conspiracy theories, indicating that so-called Dunning-Kruger effect plays a role in pseudoscientific conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19.</p>

Telecentres

2009 ◽  
pp. 281-298
Author(s):  
Vineeta Dixit
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information Provision ◽  
The State ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Grassroots Initiatives ◽  
The Public Sphere

Information communications technologies (ICTs) are one of the major areas of research and investment in developing countries because they seem to serve the cause of democratisation and empowering citizens by extending the public sphere. ICTs and especially Internet are regarded as the new public sphere for they seem to lie outside the market and the State, nurtured by civil society serving the cause of good governance and democratisation and empowering grassroots initiatives, giving them access to critical information, organising political actions, influencing public opinion and policy-making. This chapter examines the ‘publicness’ of the telecentres in the framework of public sphere as defined by Habermas. The chapter uses telecentres as representative of ‘technology mediated public space’ created by ICTs and Internet and examines two approaches to the Telecentre movement, analysing whether Telecentres can meet the requirements of the rational-critical discussions and if and what factors influence the extension of the public sphere. The chapter concludes that while the telecentres create opportunities to improve communication and reconnect citizens to the State, offering greater access to information and support for group based discussion, they are likely to support only incremental modifications to the democratic system because the current use of information communication technologies (ICTs) concentrates primarily on information provision, and not linkages that improve the quality of democratic discourse.

scholarly journals Editorial: Post-Pandemic Societies

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (36) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Wit Pasierbek ◽  
Piotr Świercz
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Free World ◽  
Complete Control ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Power ◽  
Social Protests ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Political Economic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life – political, economic, religious. It has led to millions of people being infected, a large number of deaths (in early December the number was approaching 1.5 million), severe health consequences for many of those who have survived the disease, and a powerful economic cri‑sis resulting in tens of millions of people around the world losing their jobs. The health care system in most countries has been rocked to its core. Many countries’ introduction of measures aimed at preventing the spread of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2), especially those that limit the ability to move around in the public sphere and call for social distancing and mask wearing, has caused an explosion of social protests, an increased distrust of both the authorities who have introduced various restrictions and the scientists and healthcare workers who have recommended these restrictions, as well as an unprecedented flourishing of various conspiracy theories. Some of these theories go so far as to suggest that the pandemic is a creation or invention of those holding global power, who are now striving for the total and unprecedented enslavement of billions of people and complete control over all aspects of the lives of individuals and societies. These phenomena are felt particularly acutely in democratic states, which are inherently more sensitive to social tensions. For the pandemic has deepened the already existing crisis not only of democratic-liberal institutions, but also of the entire intellectual “spirit” of this socio-political formation. The most spectacular exemplification of this phenomenon are the events surrounding the United States presidential election, which – in the opinion of some experts – may lead to a serious crisis in democratic procedures in the country considered the leader of the free world.

scholarly journals El papel de los medios online en epidemias sanitarias: una comparación de las esferas públicas de México y España / The Analysis of the Online Newspapers in Health Epidemics: A Comparison Between the Public Sphere of Mexico and Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahia Idoiaga Mondragón
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Infected People ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

ABSTRACTThe 2009 swine flu was a pandemic influenza involving H1N1 virus. This paper studies how the mass media have treated this issue by analyzing the largest circulation newspapers in Mexico and Spain. According to the Collective Symbolic Coping, when an object enters the public sphere grabbing the attention of the media, the public adopts it and share a common understanding. 167 news of the two newspapers from April 2009 to August 2010 were analyzed. First, a positive correlation between the coverage of the outbreak and influenza-infected people was found. Second, a positive correlation between the coverage of the flu in Spain and the representation of health as a problem for the Spanish was also found. Third, an ALCESTE showed five main classes. Implications for research on social representations and media coverage as well as on strategies resulting from media discourse to cope with threatening health crisis are discussed.RESUMENLa gripe porcina de 2009 fue una pandemia de influenza del virus H1N1. Este trabajo estudia cómo los medios de comunicación han tratado esta cuestión mediante el análisis de los diarios de mayor circulación en México y España. Ba-sándonos en la teoría del Collective Symbolic  Coping,  cuando un fenómeno entra en la esfera pública el acaparandola atención de los medios de comunicación, la sociedad lo asume y comparte una definición común del mismo. Se analizaron 167 noticias de los dos periódicos El Universal y El País entre abril de 2009 y agosto de 2010. En primer lugar, se encontró una correlación positiva entre la cobertura del brote y los infectados de gripe. En segundo lugar, también se encontró una correlación positiva entre la cobertura de la gripe en España y la representación de la salud como un problema para el español. En tercer lugar, el software ALCESTE mostró cinco clases principales. Se discuten las implicaciones para la inves-tigación sobre las representaciones sociales y los medios de comunicación, así como las estrategias resultantes del discurso de los medios para hacer frente a la crisis que amenaza la salud.

scholarly journals Beliefs in COVID-19 conspiracy theories predict lower level of compliance with the preventive measures both directly and indirectly by lowering trust in government medical officials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Pavela Banai ◽  
Benjamin Banai ◽  
Igor Mikloušić
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Multiple Mediation ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global health crisis, making compliance with governmental policies and public health advice crucial in decreasing transmission rates. At the same time, we are faced with the rapid spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the predictive power of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in explaining the level of compliance with official COVID-19 guidelines, by including mediating roles of pseudoscientific information beliefs and trust in government officials. A total of 1882 participants provided sociodemographic information and completed all measures in the study. Multiple mediation analysis revealed a direct negative effect of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs on the compliance with the preventive measures. In addition, conspiracy beliefs were indirectly associated with compliance via trust in government officials. The present study builds upon emerging research showing that conspiracy beliefs have potentially significant social consequences. Practical implications of these findings are further discussed.

scholarly journals An Appraisal of Communication Practices Demonstrated by Romanian District Public Health Authorities at the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2500
Author(s):  
Mariana Cernicova-Buca ◽  
Adina Palea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Communication during an ongoing crisis is a challenging task that becomes even more demanding during a public health crisis. Early in the start of the pandemic, global leaders called upon the public to reject infodemics and access official sources. This article focuses on the communicative aspects of health services management, with a particular focus on the communication strategy of the Romanian district public health authorities during the COVID-19 lockdown, as seen on official websites and social networks. The 15 most affected districts were selected, according to the officially reported health cases. The issued press releases and the posts on Facebook pages show an uneven experience on the part of district authorities in dealing with public information campaigns. In addition, the results of the study indicate a lack of sustainable communication approaches as well as the need of professional training and strategy in dealing with the public health crisis. From a communication point of view, a strategic approach on behalf of the public health sector is crucial to enhance the preparedness of appropriate institutions to act during emergencies and to respond to the needs of the media and the public with timely, correct, and meaningful information.

Motor Clubs in the Public Arena: The Argentine Automobile Club, the Argentine Touring Club and the Construction of a National Roads System (1910–43)

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melina Piglia
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
National Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
The Public Sphere

The rapid spread of the automobile in the early twentieth century posed both challenges and promises to nation states. Before automobility became the object of public policies, this new mobility technology had to be socially perceived and constructed as belonging to the public sphere. Motorist associations played a decisive role in this process. This paper focuses on the Argentine Automobile Club (ACA) and the Argentine Touring Club (TCA), the two principal automobile clubs in the country and the largest ones in Latin America during the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that the ACA and TCA had a decisive influence during the 1920s in diagnosing and listing possible solutions to road and tourism challenges, and providing reference points for most of the road and tourism policies in the following decades. At the same time, both clubs actively helped to create a national network of roads through their participation in the planning agencies and made the new roadways accessible by signposting them and by providing petrol stations. Not least they formed and spread the new practices of road culture and automobility and, by organising sporting events, tours and rally drives and printing travel guides and maps, they contributed to the symbolic construction of the roads.

Brown, the Illuminati, and the Public Sphere

2019 ◽  
pp. 334-350
Author(s):  
Anthony Galluzzo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Secret Society ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Social Commitment ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Public Sphere

This chapter explores Charles Brockden Brown’s fictionalized depictions of the anti-Jacobin conspiracy theories that drove the Illuminati scare that gripped the United States in the 1790s, as exemplified in Wieland, Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist, and Ormond. These visions of global conspiracy refer to John Robison’s 1799 Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe and Abbé Barruel’s Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism, in which the authors reduce the French Revolution and the subsequent radical convulsions to the machinations of a German secret society known as the Bavarian Illuminati. Brown satirically appropriates these counterrevolutionary theories of a worldwide conspiracy. The chapter presents Brown’s imaginative juxtapositions of Jacobin and anti-Jacobin discourse in the three novels as an incipient attempt to map a conflict-ridden 1790s public sphere, while retaining a version of radical political and social commitment—in coded form—during a period of counterrevolutionary backlash.

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