The COVID-19 Infodemic: A Survey

The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with an equally threatening global epidemic of information: an infodemic. Infodemics are situations characterized by an overabundance of uncontrolled information – including rumors, false information, and conspiracy theories – that sets the stage for all sorts of online manipulations and misbehaviors. This unprecedented situation sparked a torrent of research on topics such as the detection of COVID-19 misinformation, the tracking of misinformation spread, including the detection of those actors involved in the diffusion, and the assessment of the effects and consequences of the COVID-19 infodemic. This survey collects and critically discusses more than 250 recent computational works at the intersection between COVID-19, online harms, and online platforms. Our analysis identifies the main problems tackled by the scientific community, evaluates the proposed solutions, summarizes the achievements obtained so far, and highlights current challenges and promising avenues for future research and experimentation. In the ongoing effort to contrast the novel threat posed by global infodemics, this survey sheds light on the different actors in the field, their operating methodologies, interactions, objectives, impact, and provides new research directions on this highly multidisciplinary topic.