Introduction: Public health stands at a pivotal moment, shifting from an environment of "not enough of information" to a new era of "too much information" that runs the risk of bombarding audiences. The World Health Organization (WHO) terms this phenomenon Infodemic
[1]. As per WHO, an infodemic is too much information including false/misleading information, especially during a disease outbreak. While "Information" was supposed to help break the cycle of an outbreak, an infodemic prolongs/intensifies it because people end up being confused about the appropriate actions to take. Infodemic, while is an outbreak-specific term, misinformation going viral
[2] is neither health nor outbreak specific. Are our traditional content and co-creation methodologies prepared to compete with other content including misinformation in the age of information?
We at CCP Pakistan would like to measure what can Social and Behaviour Change professionals around the world do to develop content that is both evidence-based and has the potential to go viral so that it can increase impact. What does it take to make popular (viral) content in the digital age? Are the traditional concepts of storytelling, co-creation, creativity, celebrity-casting, segmentation, and interactivity, enough or does it takes more than that?
[1]https://www.who.int/health-topics/infodemic#tab=tab_1[2]Viral is a term used to describe an instance in which a piece of content -- YouTube video, blog article, photo, etc. -- achieves noteworthy awareness. Viral distribution relies heavily on word of mouth and the frequent sharing of one piece of content all over the internet.