Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

301 An uncertain scenario like the one generated by a pandemic is fertile ground in the field of communications to activate phenomena like misinformation or disinformation, information fatigue, ethical challenges in covering phenomena and processes that involve both health and life or death of people, as well as the need to deploy narrative strategies that contribute to a better understanding of the crisis considering all its dimensions (health, political and social, economic or intimate). Infodemic Even if we say something in good faith, there is a machinery that extracts small pieces in communication to craft falsehoods. We must be aware of the ecosystem where we navigate . Francisco Aravena, editor and producer, Copes a 68 At the beginning of 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that “we are not just fighting an epidemic; we are fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus and is equally dangerous.”. Ghebreyesus then assured that the WHO was working with major global telecommunications companies “to counteract rumors and misinformation” . 69 The WHO has defined infodemic as an overabundance of news - some accurate; some not so much - which makes it difficult for people to find reliable sources to make decisions about what to do in this health crisis context (PAHO & WHO, 2020; WHO, n. d.). However, it is important to mention that “infodemic” is not a concept developed or established in social sciences before 2020. Some press accounts mention terms such as “information epidemic” or “informative epidemic”, i.e., mixing a few facts with fear speculation and rumor amplified by communication technologies (Nielsen et al., 2020). Literature refers to informational pathologies or informative disorders (Wardle & Derakhshan 2017 cited in León et al., 2022). There is consensus in distinguishing three categories depending on their intentionality: misinformation (false information published without the intention to harm others), disinformation (intentionally misleading and affecting institutions or 68 Ceremony “Recognition for Communication...”, ISP and IMII, August 4 th , 2022. 69 Munich Security Conference, February 15 th , 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/director- general/speeches/detail/munich-security-conference (Retrieved on August 8 th , 2022).