ID: 1832
Presenting Author: Annica Waleij
Session: 626 - Disasters, Conflict and Impact Assessment: What is up, what is down, what is coming around?
Status: pending
The presentation will discuss Chemical, biological and Radiation mis/disinformation following Russia large scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Health related misinformation and disinformation has plummeted in recent years. In 2019, the outcome of a measles epidemic in Samoa got significantly worse due to misinformation. Furthermore, anti-vaccine debate and mis/disinformation on alternative ways to prevent and treat Covid 19 followed the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only does this cause distrust in authorities and institutions, but it also threatens public health and stigmatization.
The war in Ukraine, following Russia large scale invasion in 2022, has in addition to tremendous human suffering and environmental harm, also been plagued by misinformation and disinformation. Examples include allegations of secret biological warfare laboratories conducted by the U.S. on Ukraine soil, the use of chemical weapons by Ukraine, and preparation of so called “dirty bombs”, psychologically exploiting fears of radiation. The presentation will discuss those CBRN threats.
Mrs Waleij is a Senior analyst at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI). For the past 25 years, she has been working with environmental and health issues, related to the Swedish Armed Fo