False information related to non-existing epidemics associates stigmatizes immigrants and other sexual minority groups alerts Ramón Salaverría, coordinator of IBERIFIER, commenting the report on disinformation in the health for the year 2024, published by EFEverifica, the Spanish news agency’s anti-disinformation service, on December 26th.
The professor at the University of Navarra considered it important to invest in the study of how disinformation affects some vulnerable groups, such as immigrants, who tend to be stigmatized as a potential source of disease, in addition to being used as a tool in ideological battles.
Ramón Salaverría also warned of the need to clarify misinformation among senior citizens, those over 60 years old, for whom the issue of health is especially sensitive, he said.
The disinformation expert and professor at the University of Navarra has also identified the existence of academics who consume misinformation content based on a supposed intellectual superiority.
Among the false therapies detected are cancer treatments that have no scientific basis. To counteract these phenomena, Ramón Salaverría (Chema Moya photo, EFE) believes it is essential that the media give a voice to experts and researchers, to guarantee the credibility of good information.
