Infodemia e pandemia: la cognitive warfare ai tempi del SARS-CoV-2

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an infodemic, where misinformation and propaganda have been used as tools of cognitive warfare, emphasizing the need for critical analysis and international policies.

Contribution

It highlights the role of infodemia in cognitive warfare during COVID-19 and advocates for active critical analysis and international cooperation to mitigate its effects.

Findings

Infodemia contributed to global uncertainty during COVID-19.

Propaganda was systematically used by various actors.

Critical analysis and policies can help combat cognitive warfare.

Abstract

With the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, two epidemics have spread: one for health and one for information. The virus has generated an unprecedented infodemic, contributing to the establishment of a climate of great uncertainty. Massive and redundant information has also been an effective vector of propaganda, on a global scale, by state and non-state actors. A real hostile act in which physical violence is not foreseen, but systematic management of information through the manipulation of the cognitive sphere. For this reason, the adoption of an attitude of active critical analysis by citizens and institutions and also the implementation of common policies at an international level could undoubtedly facilitate the fight against cognitive warfare (so-called cognitive warfare) and therefore limit its disastrous effects.