The conference was co-organized by the Academy of Journalism and Communication (AJC), the Nhan Dan Newspaper, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The event consisted of an opening session and two thematic panels with six presentations presented by Vietnamese and Korean scholars. Panel 1 focused on the reality of the infodemic. Panel 2 looked into experiences, initiatives and solutions to improve pandemic communications, enhance the role of mainstream media in fighting misinformation and disinformation, and accelerate the application of technology to pandemic communications.
The conference was a forum for Vietnamese and Korean experts to exchange experience, methods and remedy for the current infodemic. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted into the infodemic, which caused huge hindrance to the implementation of anti-pandemic solutions.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on 15 Feb, 2020, about three months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan (China), WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that, “we’re not just fighting a pandemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.”
Therefore, it was extremely important to manage the infodemic in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Assoc. Prof., Dr. Pham Minh Son, AJC Rector, said, “Together with the COVID-19 pandemic, the infodemic caused severe economic and social consequences. The spread of misinformation and disinformation on society makes it even more difficult to implement anti-pandemic solutions. Media organizations and higher education institutions in journalism and communications have an important role to play in this battle against the infodemic.”
According to journalist Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of the Nhan Dan Newspaper, “the infodemic emphasizes the importance of fact-checking activities. It is social and professional responsibility of press organizations to verify the information. Journalists need to have methods, skills and tools to check and verify information before presenting it to the audiences. Press organizations should also invest more in technology, which facilitates fact-checking activities.”
KOICA Vietnam Country Director Cho Han Deog said, “the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic results in the infodemic, threatening public trust in social institutions. This is the problem of many countries in the world and must be solved with suitable, timely and creative solutions. Therefore, it is a pleasure for KOICA to cooperate with the AJC and the Nhan Dan Newspaper to organize this meaningful event, helping to construct a healthy and positive media environment.”
The conference also witnessed the online participation of Korean political and media expert Dr. Sonho Kim, lead researcher at Korean Press Foundation. He explained how political attitudes interacted with media uses in building belief in COVID-19 misinformation. Dr. Uhm Seung Yong, former KOICA expert in Vietnam, discussed the anti-pandemic solutions with a focus on the quality of information given to the public.
The event was part of a series of international scientific conference, which have been jointly organized by the AJC, the KOICA and press organizations since 2016. These conferences serve as the forums for Vietnamese and Korean experts to exchange information, experience and solutions for journalism, communication and social issues of theoretical and practical importance.
Chung Anh