Ever since the events of the 2016 United States presidential elections, the term ‘fake news’ has seen common usage amongst the media, governments and the general public.
Fast forward to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now in the midst of what some experts call an ‘infodemic’, which describes an excessive amount of information about a problem that is typically unreliable and spreads rapidly.
There are many associated and commonly-confused terms around what we can collectively call ‘information disorders’. It is helpful to know the differences between them to combat these phenomena.
The Council of Europe’s 2017 report on the subject sets out three categories of information disorders, whose definitions are adapted here as follows:
- Dis-information: False information deliberately created or shared to cause harm.
- Mis-information: False information – but not created or shared to cause harm.
- Mal-information: Real information shared to cause harm.
Knowing the different types of information disorders will help organisations and individuals recognise and guard against them. We should also be cognisant that what starts as one category of information disorder can morph into another.
One example of this took place in 2007, when an image of Hillary Clinton was doctored to show her meeting and shaking hands with Osama bin Laden in the White House for a Photoshop contest.
The doctored image was subsequently repurposed and circulated by pro-Kremlin Twitter accounts in 2016 during the US presidential elections, showing how false information may be created without any intent to harm, but ends up being distributed by bad actors with malicious intent.
A reverse example of this could be false information created by bad actors with malicious intent, which is then proliferated by people acting in good faith, thinking that the information they are spreading is accurate.
We witness this sometimes in those ‘viral’ messages spread amongst family and friends on instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, containing anything from false news of government regulations – to supposedly-legitimate medical advice and information.
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This can often be a source of anxiety, confusion and fear, especially when faced with concerning or fear-mongering information.
Impact on business
Information disorders not only affect our psyche but in the long run and with widespread impact, can also take a toll on business productivity and resilience.
The International SOS Risk Outlook 2022 predicts that the brewing infodemic will pose new threats to organisations this year – challenging team member safety, team member expectations, and regulatory compliance.
There are many ways in which information disorders such as an infodemic can affect business. Employees may not dare to enter their office building if they have been erroneously informed of a critical structural integrity issue.
They may fear going to work if they have received false news that their workplace has become a hotspot for COVID-19 infections. They may be hesitant to get vaccinated against the virus if they have been exposed to unverified information regarding the safety of the vaccines.
Even internal business communications can become lost or twisted in translation – employees may lose faith in their employers’ capability to manage incidents and crises like natural disasters, workplace violence and epidemics if the proverbial grapevine distorts the original intent and content of the official message.
This challenge is exacerbated by the advent of social media and instant messaging tools and the speed at which information can be proliferated on these platforms.
False information can spread just as fast and far, if not even faster and further than, real information. Cognitive bias can also result in the information received first – even if proven false later on – affecting our psyche.
The magnitude and persistence of information disorders can also lead to acute or chronic feelings of mental stress, highlighting the mental health dimension in workforce resilience.
It is mentally taxing to be constantly bombarded with, and to have to process, a large volume of information, not just for their content, but also for their intent and veracity.
Combatting information disorders
So how can businesses combat information disorders to promote organisational and workforce resilience?
Also Read: How to tackle employee mental health to build a resilient workforce
There are many ways to do so, and a combination of these is likely to yield better outcomes than the pursuit of anyone on its own:
- Comprehensive communications strategy: Businesses should consider sharing information through a combination of channels such as the company webpage, a company newsletter, official emails, etc. Communications sessions can further bolster these, whether one-on-one or in small or large groups (depending on the company structure and culture), helmed by managers to clarify the information and intent behind any company plans and policies.Technology can be leveraged when information must be shared urgently outside of office hours, such as through virtual calls and conferencing, work chats on instant messaging platforms, etc. Two-way communication is also crucial for employees to clarify doubts and challenge information that has been shared constructively – the possibility of this information is false or becoming obsolete cannot be ruled out.
- Robust information sourcing and verification process: Businesses should identify and rely on credible sources of information such as official government channels. In addition to this, partnering with established providers like International SOS can give businesses access to health and security subject matter experts who are well-placed to provide and verify the information and offer assessments and advice.For instance, International SOS can help guide your workforce health and safety agenda and posture in response to relevant developments or in anticipation of projected ones.
Businesses should also be cognizant of the fluid nature of information, and build and maintain a process that continually sources and verifies relevant information, whether in-house or contracted to third-party providers, or through a combination thereof.
- Build a structure and culture of openness and trust: The effect of business strategies and processes is often determined by the structure they are built on and the culture they operate within. Managers and leaders should model openness to gain their employees’ trust. Trust is often lost or damaged when employees perceive that material information is being withheld.One thing to remember is that employees and managers can have very different perspectives on the relevance of information; sometimes, well-meaning managers risk losing the trust of their teams when they do not share information that their employees feel is relevant.
Be aware and beware of unofficial internal channels of information that run parallel to and can undermine official communications.
It is vital to allow and encourage employees to engage with and be constructively critical of information that affects them – the morale of an organisation and its workforce can be rapidly eroded by employees who feel like they are pure ‘price-takers’.
Particularly in managing COVID-19-related complexities, offering third-party platforms for employees to speak to medical professionals, or organising forums/webinars to clarify information can also alleviate fears, and build trust within the organisation.
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It is important to remember here that the goal of these platforms and exercises is not to mandate any personal medical decisions but to encourage and educate employees.
Proactively offering opportunities for Q&A with healthcare professionals, or conducting educational webinars, will help to instil confidence and trust in employees so that they are less susceptible to false claims, and also allow them to share their concerns and hesitations. So they can make informed decisions about their health.
On a tangentially-related note, with the string of high-profile corporate whistleblowing cases in recent years, businesses should operate on the assumption that even highly-confidential information can be publicised.
While the loss of a competitive edge from the leak of technical information may be impossible to salvage, the loss of reputation from the disclosure of business strategies and practices can be mitigated, or even eliminated, by corporate ethics and responsibility. In this regard, the ‘front page test’ is an excellent internal gatekeeper with which to interrogate business decision-making.
Information will only grow more abundant, adding further complexity to business operations and the management of employee wellbeing.
Businesses need to evolve their information management mechanisms to not just survive, but thrive, in the ever-changing information landscape, much as they adjust and align their business models and processes to navigate market dynamics.
Building a strong culture of openness, having access to trusted sources of information and maintaining robust communications with employees will help businesses adapt to evolving circumstances, and allay fears and anxieties that may arise amidst an infodemic.
Success will pay dividends and failure may not be countenanced by an increasingly interwoven world.
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