Lessons to Learn from Covid-19 and Misinformation
Defending Against Misinformation With Facts and Emotions
With the risk of engineered pandemics in the future we need to be aware. To address this there are many lessons to learn from misinformation and Covid-19. Since the correct information can keep us safe from disease and healthy. But it isn’t easy to know what’s correct in a crises because as Mike Tyson said “everybody’s has a plan until they get punched in the face”. In other words Covid-19 punched us all in the face and we can learn from that. We can improve our defense against misinformation driven for profit by regenerating scientific institutions.
A key question we all face in our lives is “do we trust this person”? It comes up in our relationships. When we experience trauma the chaos of fear combined with distrust can numb us. Our relationships become more distant. This might be for good reason, but it can also be destructive. The true cost is seen only years later. At this point a natural question is “Could we have done things different?” To answer this question requires careful reflection with compassion for ourselves. Today, many people feel a sense of betrayal with their scientific institutions. To heal from this scientific institutions in a post-COVID age need to cultivate our emotions and connect love and empathy in our learning when delivering the evidence and facts. Such that institutional capacities connect with nature and don’t destroy nature to make the world a better place for the next generation.
“For mountain and stream, tree and leaf, root and blossom, every form in nature is echoed in us and originates in the soul whose being is eternity and is hidden from us but none the less gives itself to us for the most part in the power of love and creation” (Hesse, 1969, p.99).
Misinformation Networks Convincing the Undecided for Profit
While people in power often use the word misinformation like a catch-phrase it helps to be more nuanced and understand the reasons and tactics. Being aware of these can help us protect our minds against misinformation. Importantly, a primary reason people spread misinformation is money. When there is power and profit available from false information this unfortunately represents an opportunity for some. While this can be harmless more often false information is harmful damaging people and society over the long-term. It can damage their physical health, mental health and health of their environments.
Misinformation that harms us is often delivered in a sneaky way. It has a specific purpose but tries to hide that purpose. It can use fake experts, use old knowledge we are familiar with and repeat it in new contexts with false information (APA, n.d.). The problem is misinformation that harms our society harms us. Misinformation can lead to mistakes that cost us our health and well-being. This affects our mental health which can make us more vulnerable to misinformation. It becomes a vicious cycle of trauma we need to break out of, which we can do with the support of others who want to work together in their relationships.
Many people including scientists are genuine about helping people. They want to make the world a better and more beautiful place. But these values clash with Big Tech social media algorithms designed to profit off negative emotions. They build tension in us and tell us to release it by purchasing a product. Whether this makes a better world isn’t important. And so, the public consensus network is shaped around misinformation that generates profit for a few, while harming many. But could this change ?
Building Better Emotional Environments in Scientific Institutions
A more proactive approach to emotions might help. Scientists who are more in-tune with their emotions could write better. They could use emotional language to explain the facts to the public and engage more in their communities. Yet, even today combining science and emotions is a strange idea for many in educational institutions who dismiss emotions as a distraction. Instead they put absolute priority on test scores. While these are important, we likely need to look beyond test scores to impact society. Healthy emotions move students and scientists from isolated to connected (Bracket, 2019, p.192). This happens in safe environments. In safe environments our mental health improves which means we can connect with others, make friends and enjoy community. Most of us want to live in a healthy and happy community that gives us moments of joy. That’s why information is so important. Taking reflection and learning lessons from misinformation and Covid-19 will help us all to prepare for future pandemics. Because the right information can improve our society for the better, and we need to work together if we want to achieve this.
References
American Psychological Association [APA]. (n.d.). Mind over Misinformation [Online Course]. https://digital.apa.org/misinformation-effect/#/
Bracket, M. (2019). Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves and Our Society Thrive. Celadon Books.
Hesse, H. (1969). Demian. Panther Books Ltd.
Toussaint, G.T. (2020). The Geometry of Musical Rhythm: What Makes a “Good” Rhythm Good?. CRC Press.
Annex
Here is the link to the most updated powerpoint presentation “To Trust or Not to Trust !: The Online Anti-Vaccine Movement in the Age of Covid-19 by Burki (2020)” which inspired this blog post. The presentation was presented on the 29th of April, 2025 at the University of Porto as part of the Public Health module in the ECT+ course for Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.