Abstract
The covid-19 pandemic has created a fertile ground for fake news, particularly with regards to
the vaccines produced. As a consequence, mistrust of the vaccine has grown in Europe. In a
January 2021 survey, led for Reuters London, 30% of the UK population stated they distrusted
them, and only 30% of the French population were willing to be vaccinated, one of the lowest
rate in the world (Kelland, 2021). Governments and medical institutions need to address the
challenge of fake news that is damaging people’s health and well-being, whether they relate to
a global scheme to sterilize women globally (Stecklow & Macaskill, 2021) or a worldwide
conspiracy let by Bill Gates (Goodman & Carmichael, 2020). To that aim health systems have
focused on the development of social media strategies to fight false information and orient
people toward legitimate sources (WHO, 2021). But how can they make sure people are given
information sufficient to make well informed decisions, and best fight fake news?