Coronavirus disease (COVID -19) is the first pandemic in history to use technology and social media on a large scale to keep people safe, informed, productive, and connected. At the same time, the technology we rely on to stay connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and compromise pandemic control measures. An infodemic is an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It is a deliberate attempt to spread false information in order to undermine the public health response and promote alternative agendas by groups or individuals. Misinformation and disinformation can harm people’s physical and mental health, increase stigma, jeopardize valuable health gains, and lead to poor adherence to public health interventions, reducing their effectiveness and jeopardizing

countries’ ability to stop the pandemic. Misinformation costs lives. Without the necessary confidence and the right information, diagnostic tests will go unused, vaccination campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not achieve their goals, and the virus will continue to spread. Moreover, disinformation polarizes public debate on issues related to COVID -19, amplifies hate speech, increases the risk of conflict, violence and human rights abuses, and threatens the long-term prospects for promoting democracy, human rights and social cohesion. The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media. We don’t always know who created something, why they made it, and whether it’s credible. This makes media literacy tricky to learn and teach. Nonetheless, media literacy is an essential skill in the digital age.