South Africa employs social listening to address persistent COVID misinformation
South Africa's national Department of Health implemented a circular social listening system during the COVID-19 pandemic to track public concerns and misinformation. Despite identifying recurring misinformation around vaccines, treatments, and government communication, similar concerns persisted. The system involved listening, understanding, recommending responses, and continuous monitoring to improve health communication and manage misinformation.
Brève Publié le (Africa/Lagos, UTC+1) · date de l'événement : 2021-01-01
South Africa’s national Department of Health established a technical Risk Communication and Community Engagement working group during the COVID-19 pandemic that implemented a circular social listening system to tackle misinformation and public concerns.
This system monitored public conversations across social media, online news, WhatsApp streams, call centres, and community channels to identify misinformation, rumours, and gaps in understanding.
Between 2021 and 2023, 91 social listening reports identified 964 instances of misinformation across 12 themes, mainly about COVID-19, vaccines, treatments, and government communication.
The circular process involved listening, understanding the problem, recommending responses, and continuously listening again to adjust strategies.
Despite the system’s efforts, similar misinformation themes recurred, highlighting the challenges of addressing public uncertainty and trust during health crises.
The recommended actions focused on improving health information communication and management to better address public concerns and misinformation.