Os impactos da propagação de fake news em tempos de pandemia

Abstract

From the Brazilian dictionary, Fake News means “False News; false or untrue news and information that are shared as if they are real and true, disseminated in virtual contexts, especially on social networks or in applications for sharing messages” (DICIONÁRIO BRASILEIRO, 2021). In Brazil, in the years 2020 and 2021 a virus called Coronavirus spread and generated more than 550,000 deaths. And in parallel to the health chaos, communication teams discover the false news, a new and perhaps even more dangerous enemy. In health, false news has an even greater impact, as it spreads and divides the population with opinions, often based on information without any scientific evidence. Is immunization safe? Is the information proven? How does a healthcare area manage to convey trust and credibility? With the advancement of communications technology and the increasingly unrestrained use of social networks, the fast and easy speed of news and information without theoretical foundations are highlighted in the pandemic period experienced in the world. As a result, the prominence and responsibility of the communication teams in general has been increasingly greater and more challenging. Faced with an emergency scenario in public health, associated with the dissemination of false news, this report is based on the experience of the Communication team of a philanthropic hospital, 100% SUS, located in Belo Horizonte / MG, which sought to answer the following research question: how to reduce the impact of false news in the hospital environment of a philanthropic hospital? Aiming to answer the question, this report aims to present the strategies adopted by the communication team of a philanthropic hospital without effort to avoid panic and dissemination of false news internally and externally in the hospital environment. The setting of this study is a health institution, philanthropic under private law, which serves 100% of the SUS and is located in the capital of Minas Gerais, where the employees of the communication team work tirelessly to disseminate proven facts about Covid-19 and they strive to educate the population to identify true news amidst so much false news.