8: The Impact of Disinformation on Public Health

Health-related disinformation, particularly around vaccines and pandemics, continues to undermine public health efforts. It fuels vaccine hesitancy, amplifies mistrust in medical institutions and deepens health disparities, especially among vulnerable populations. This chapter examines how disinformation spreads during health crises and highlights the role of social network analysis (SNA) in tracing its diffusion. SNA offers a way to identify key users, monitor narrative amplification and detect coordinated sharing patterns. It also provides a mechanism to study the positive aspects of social media platforms, such as examining networks where users come together to debunk disinformation. The authors also provide an overview of the authors’ SNA-related research in this domain, outlining how it can support early detection and inform targeted public health interventions. As Artificial Intelligence–driven disinformation tactics continue to evolve, SNA will play a critical role in diagnosing current threats, enabling more proactive and adaptive public health responses.