Pandemic Accord, Digital Health Literacy, and Human Rights in the Era of Infodemic

Abstract

The unprecedented spread of false or misleading information through social and digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic was a major challenge for governments worldwide. The widespread misinformation caused confusion about the benefits of public health interventions, undermined trust in science and public health authorities, and weakened the uptake and adherence to public health measures. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies the phenomena as “infodemic”— excessive information of varying quality that makes it difficult to access and identify trustworthy
sources and information. Concerns over the infodemic have prompted governments to take various regulatory actions, ranging from disseminating accurate information, restricting the spread of
disinformation, false information, and misinformation, regulating the service providers, to criminalizing expression in the digital environment. However, some governments have expanded their police power under the guise of public health, arresting and prosecuting citizens and journalists for discussing or criticizing governments’ role in responding to and managing the pandemic.

As the world negotiates for a new pandemic treaty, this article focuses on the right to information and digital health literacy as essential components of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. It assesses the public health communication provision in the draft of the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Accord (hereinafter “Pandemic Accord”) by drawing from the Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies, demonstrating the complementarity of a human-rights based approach with the Pandemic Accord in expressing the right to health and the right to freedom of expression and opinion in particular.

Keywords: infodemic, pandemic, Pandemic Accord, digital health literacy, misinformation, disinformation, right to information