Legal Solutions to Health Misinformation and Disinformation During the Covid-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Abstract

The spread of false information online has increased dramatically in recent years. Around the COVID-19 pandemic,
a digital epidemic of misinformation, or “infodemic,” has arisen. Since the beginning of 2020, digital platforms
have served as both a source of and a remedy for Disinformation. After a few months of the epidemic, it is clear
that ensuring health professionals access to necessary medical equipment and supplies is less crucial than fighting
falsehoods online. Actions such as (a) urging social media firms to delete material about the epidemic that is
contentious, (b) putting up special forces to counteract propaganda and false information (e.g., E.U., U.K.), and (c)
incarcerating suspicious coronavirus false claims, including in connection to the public health interventions, were
high priorities for many government agencies around the world in response to COVID-19. State of emergency
measures used early on shaped future debates on how to strike a fair balance between free speech and censorship
on the internet by, among other things, restricting access to news and encouraging journalists to hold back on their
reporting.