Health and Public communication in the era of conspiracy theories
Health and Public communication in the era of conspiracy theories

Author(s): Milan Urbaník
Subject(s): Health and medicine and law, Fake News - Disinformation
Published by: EUROPEUM - Institut pro evropskou politiku
Keywords: Covid 19;
Summary/Abstract: The Czech government is under increased pressure to persuade citizens to vaccinate themselves against Covid-19. The strong presence of anti-vaccination movements, as well as general scepticism of Czech public against vaccination represents a serious challenge for public communication. To communicate effectively in the context of conspiracy theories, the Czech Ministry of Health should follow simple best practices to persuade citizens to vaccinate. The messages communicated should be clear and simple, delivered by reliable and familiar messengers. Furthermore, the right channels should be considered, and various governmental institutions should be consistent in their messages. In addition to the short-term adjustments, the Ministry of Health should consider employing or training health communication experts that would design, pre-test and evaluate health campaigns to realise the full persuasive potential of health communication.

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