Establishing infodemic management in Germany: a framework for social listening and integrated analysis to report insights at the national public health institute (Preprint)

BACKGROUND To respond to the need for establishing infodemic management functions at the national public health institute in Germany (Robert Koch Institute; RKI), we explored and assessed available data sources, developed a social listening and integrated analysis framework, and defined when infodemic management functions would activate during emergencies. OBJECTIVE We aimed to establish a framework for social listening and integrated analysis for public health in the German context, using international examples and technical guidance documents for infodemic management. METHODS At the RKI, we 1) identified (potentially) available data sources for social listening and integrated analysis; 2) assessed these data sources for their suitability and usefulness for integrated analysis in addition to an assessment of their risk using RKIs standardised data protection requirement; 3) developed a framework and workflow to combine social listening and integrated analysis to report back actionable infodemic insights for public health communications by the RKI and stakeholders; 4) defined criteria for activating integrated analysis structures in the context of a specific health event or health emergency. RESULTS We identified and assessed 18 different types of data sources for social listening and integrated analysis in three categories: social media online listening data, RKI-specific data, and infodemic insights. Most data sources can be analysed on a weekly basis to detect current trends and narratives and to inform a timely response through reporting insights that include a threat assessment and scalar judgements of the different narratives and themes. CONCLUSIONS This work identified, assessed, and prioritized a wide range of data sources for social listening and integrated analysis to report actionable insights, ensuring a valuable first step to establish and operationalise infodemic management at the RKI. Ultimately, once operational, these activities will inform better and targeted public health communication at the RKI, and beyond. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable.