SynthesisBulletin of the World Health Organization2022
Infodemics and health misinformation: a systematic review of reviews.
Synthesis in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 238 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
238 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- [Social media in anesthesiology: a systematic review on typology as well as opportunities and risks].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2026Pooled it
- Media Exposure and Its Association With Vaccine Attitudes, Intentions, and Hesitancy: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Lessons for the Next Global Health Crisis: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Women's Experiences of the Perinatal Period During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia.The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology · 2026Pooled it
- Challenges and Strategies for the Development and Implementation of Climate-Informed Early Warning Systems for Vector-Borne Diseases: A Systematic Review.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2026Pooled it
- Development of a Conceptual Framework of Health Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review of Reviews.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Pooled it
- Overcoming health misinformation in marginalized groups: a systematic review.International journal for equity in health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Management of infodemics in outbreaks or health crises: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Approaches to Research Ethics in Health Research on YouTube: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Misinformation mayhem: the effects of TikTok content on ADHD knowledge, stigma, and treatment-seeking intentions.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Debunking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation with an audio drama in Ghana, a randomized control trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Process Evaluation of Teaching Critical Thinking About Health Using the Informed Health Choices Intervention in Kenya: A Mixed Methods Study.Global health, science and practice · 2024Trial
- The Resilience of Attitude Toward Vaccination: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial on the Processing of Misinformation.JMIR formative research · 2024Trial
- Beyond social media: the era of generative AI and intelligent digital platforms in nephrology education.Renal failure · 2026Article
- What shapes influenza attitudes and behaviors in Italy? Insights from a cross-sectional study.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2026Article
- Study of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine-Related Social Media Content Across Eight Social Media Platforms: Scoping Review of Communication Content, Information Sources, and Analytical Approaches.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Guidelines on Immunization of People with Chronic Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review.Vaccines · 2026Review
- Medication-Related Information on Social Media: Exploring Public Trust, Perceptions of Credibility, and Influence on Behavior.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Potential role of regular physicians in improving health literacy in patients with chronic diseases: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Korea.Korean journal of family medicine · 2026Article
- Investigating Online Discussions About Cancer Screening on Twitter (Subsequently Rebranded as X): Corpus Analysis.JMIR infodemiology · 2026Article
178 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Objective: To compare and summarize the literature regarding infodemics and health misinformation, and to identify challenges and opportunities for addressing the issues of infodemics. Methods: We searched MEDLINE®, Embase®, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, Scopus and Epistemonikos on 6 May 2022 for systematic reviews analysing infodemics, misinformation, disinformation and fake news related to health. We grouped studies based on similarity and retrieved evidence on challenges and opportunities. We used the AMSTAR 2 approach to assess the reviews' methodological quality. To evaluate the quality of the evidence, we used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. Findings: Our search identified 31 systematic reviews, of which 17 were published. The proportion of health-related misinformation on social media ranged from 0.2% to 28.8%. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are critical in disseminating the rapid and far-reaching information. The most negative consequences of health misinformation are the increase of misleading or incorrect interpretations of available evidence, impact on mental health, misallocation of health resources and an increase in vaccination hesitancy. The increase of unreliable health information delays care provision and increases the occurrence of hateful and divisive rhetoric. Social media could also be a useful tool to combat misinformation during crises. Included reviews highlight the poor quality of published studies during health crises. Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that infodemics during health emergencies have an adverse effect on society. Multisectoral actions to counteract infodemics and health misinformation are needed, including developing legal policies, creating and promoting awareness campaigns, improving health-related content in mass media and increasing people's digital and health literacy.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.