https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-rise-of-health-entertainment-to-convey-lifesaving-messages-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Delivering accurate health messages to people around the world has never been more urgent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. But delivery means little when messages are left unopened or unattended. In order to truly reach the public with lifesaving health information, public health authorities need to redesign their messages to grab the public’s attention and meet them there they are—on social media.

In the early weeks of the crisis, medical experts and public health agencies watched a tidal wave of misinformation flood social media channels. Clever memes and short, entertaining videos played on paranoia, fear and stigmatization, aggravating an unprecedented global state of anxiety and confusion. Social media figures suggested anecdotal preventive strategies that ranged from simply ineffective to life-threatening. Some posts advised readers to snort cocaine, drink bleach or avoid ice cream to prevent infection with the virus. One televangelist instructed viewers to touch their television screens during his show in order to be cured of the virus. Because the scientific community was unaccustomed to disseminating messages on social media, the most reliable voices on health struggled to break through the noise.