Infodemic

noun (also attributive/adjectival)

/ˌɪnfəʊˈdɛmɪk/

An overabundance of information — including misinformation and disinformation — during a disease outbreak that makes it difficult for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance; the WHO identified the "infodemic" as a major challenge during COVID-19, as false claims about treatments, vaccines, and the virus's origins spread rapidly through social media.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

During the pandemic, the State's challenge was twofold: containing the contagion itself while simultaneously battling an infodemic in which rumour, pseudo-science and communal canards travelled faster than verified advisories, eroding public trust in scientific institutions and complicating the public-health response.

Synonyms

information overloadmisinformation delugedisinformation epidemicinformation glutrumour cascadedata flood

Antonyms

information vacuumnews blackoutinformation dearthfact-based clarity

🌱 Word Family

No standard derived forms

🔡 Root

Coined/Modern: portmanteau of information + epidemic (Rothkopf, 2003); no classical root

📜 Etymology

Portmanteau of "information" + "epidemic"; coined by David Rothkopf in a 2003 Washington Post column during the SARS outbreak; adopted by the WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic.

🧠 Memory Hook

INFO + epiDEMIC = an "epidemic of information." Picture misinformation spreading person-to-person like a virus — facts and falsehoods going viral together.

⚠️ Disaster Management 📖 Seen in: Pandemic Preparedness & Biological Dis...

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