Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 148
148
Accepted
Lower levels of public trust and understanding of the regulations also created a gap into...
Conclusion
Lower levels of public trust and understanding of the regulations also created a gap into which misinformation was able to spread. Research conducted by Ofcom in the first six weeks of the pandemic found that 47% of respondents said they had come across false or misleading information about covid-19 in the last week. Most commonly, respondents indicated that the misinformation they encountered was linked to “theories linking the origins or causes of covid-19 to 5G technology”.236 More recently, a study conducted by King’s College London in November 2020 found that 14% of respondents “believe the real purpose of a mass vaccination programme against coronavirus is simply to track and control the population”.237 Susceptibility to covid-19 misinformation has many causes, but research has found that lower levels of trust in both scientists and Government are associated with increased susceptibility to misinformation.238 This highlights the critical importance of a communications strategy which is clear, consistent and perceived as transparent by the public. Outcomes
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees on the importance of public health communications but highlights its past messaging as strong and effective, without committing to new actions or a revised strategy to address current issues with trust and misinformation.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
As the report points out, public health communications are key to the public’s understanding of and compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions. Messaging from the government early in the pandemic was strong, effective, and undoubtedly contributed to the understanding of and compliance with the regulatory measures taken, including lockdown.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗