Managing Infodemic on COVID-۱۹ Related Issues: ‘Building Resilience to Misinformation’ in IRNA and FARS News agencies Instagram Pages

The present article aims to investigate the modality of coverage and infodemic management regarding COVID ۱۹ by the two Iranian mainstream media i.e., IRNA and Fars News Agency. To investigate the modality of infodemic management, the article specifically examines ‘building resilience to misinformation’. To reach this aim, content analysis has been used. Data for this study were selected from the Instagram pages of Fars News Agency (@fras_news) and Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) (Irna_۱۳۱۳) from February ۱۹, ۲۰۱۹, the day of the official announcement regarding the first Coronavirus case in Iran, until October ۲۵, ۲۰۲۱. In total ۲۱۸ items were collected, out of which ۶۴ cases were from IRNA and ۱۵۴ were from Fars News Agency. Both news agencies were examined in terms of infodemic type, Infodemic themes and infodemic sources. The results of the study indicated that in terms of infodemic type, Fars mainly focused on fake news; while IRNA concentrated on prevalent public questions and concerns regarding the Coronavirus. In terms of infodemic themes, both news agencies focused on Corona phobia and vaccination. The results of the study indicate that social networking sites are the main sources of spreading infodemic regarding COVID-۱۹. 

Keywords:

Covid-۱۹ , fake news , Infodemic management , Instagram , Mainstream media , misinformation