A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare
Ideological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy duri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SJSU Scholarworks
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Secrecy and Society |
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| Online Access: | https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety/vol3/iss2/3/ |
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| author | Mitchell Liester Sohaib Ashraf Patricia Callisperis Hector Carvallo Shankara Chetty Robert Enzenauer Carlos Franco-Paredes Raul Pineda Panagis Polykretis Rachel Wilkenson Peter McCullough |
| author_facet | Mitchell Liester Sohaib Ashraf Patricia Callisperis Hector Carvallo Shankara Chetty Robert Enzenauer Carlos Franco-Paredes Raul Pineda Panagis Polykretis Rachel Wilkenson Peter McCullough |
| author_sort | Mitchell Liester |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ideological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined including how organizations and governments create confusion about the risks associated with their products and blame avoidance to shift responsibility and to avoid accountability for their actions. Methods of censorship employed during the COVID-19 pandemic are reviewed, examples are provided, and the consequences of these actions are reviewed. Information included in this review was obtained from scientific papers, government documents, mass media articles, books, and personal accounts of physicians and scientists. We examine how the use of censorship and secrecy created a challenge for scientists, physicians, politicians, and the general public in trying to understand COVID-related topics. Finally, strategies for managing censorship and secrecy during a pandemic are presented. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1f3984bca1d24f9ea33e02ba0d94126a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2377-6188 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SJSU Scholarworks |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Secrecy and Society |
| spelling | doaj-art-1f3984bca1d24f9ea33e02ba0d94126a2025-08-20T01:49:55ZengSJSU ScholarworksSecrecy and Society2377-61882025-01-0132https://doi.org/10.55917/2377-6188.1087 A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in HealthcareMitchell LiesterSohaib AshrafPatricia CallisperisHector CarvalloShankara ChettyRobert EnzenauerCarlos Franco-ParedesRaul PinedaPanagis PolykretisRachel WilkensonPeter McCulloughIdeological and financial motivations have undermined science for decades. In this narrative review, we explore how organizations and governments used misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and secrecy to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Various rationales for employing censorship and secrecy during the COVID-19 pandemic are examined including how organizations and governments create confusion about the risks associated with their products and blame avoidance to shift responsibility and to avoid accountability for their actions. Methods of censorship employed during the COVID-19 pandemic are reviewed, examples are provided, and the consequences of these actions are reviewed. Information included in this review was obtained from scientific papers, government documents, mass media articles, books, and personal accounts of physicians and scientists. We examine how the use of censorship and secrecy created a challenge for scientists, physicians, politicians, and the general public in trying to understand COVID-related topics. Finally, strategies for managing censorship and secrecy during a pandemic are presented.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety/vol3/iss2/3/censorshipconspiracy theorycovid-19disinformationheterodox viewsmalinformationmisinformationorthodox narrativepoliticssecrecyus government policiesworld health organization |
| spellingShingle | Mitchell Liester Sohaib Ashraf Patricia Callisperis Hector Carvallo Shankara Chetty Robert Enzenauer Carlos Franco-Paredes Raul Pineda Panagis Polykretis Rachel Wilkenson Peter McCullough A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare Secrecy and Society censorship conspiracy theory covid-19 disinformation heterodox views malinformation misinformation orthodox narrative politics secrecy us government policies world health organization |
| title | A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare |
| title_full | A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare |
| title_fullStr | A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare |
| title_short | A Narrative Review of the COVID-19 Infodemic and Censorship in Healthcare |
| title_sort | narrative review of the covid 19 infodemic and censorship in healthcare |
| topic | censorship conspiracy theory covid-19 disinformation heterodox views malinformation misinformation orthodox narrative politics secrecy us government policies world health organization |
| url | https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/secrecyandsociety/vol3/iss2/3/ |
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