VaxPulse: Active Global Vaccine Infodemic Risk Assessment

Abstract: Vaccine infodemics, driven by misinformation, disinformation, and inauthentic online behaviours, pose significant threats to global public health. This paper presents our response to this challenge, demonstrating how we developed VaxPulse Vaccine Infodemic Risk Assessment Lifecycle (VIRAL), an AI-powered social listening platform designed to monitor and assess vaccine-related infodemic risks. Leveraging interdisciplinary expertise and international collaborations, VaxPulse VIRAL integrates machine learning methods, including deep learning, active learning, and data augmentation, to provide real-time insights into public sentiments, misinformation trends, and social bot activity. Iterative feedback from domain experts and stakeholders has guided the development of dynamic dashboards that offer tailored, actionable insights to support immunisation programs and address information disorder. Ongoing improvements to VaxPulse will continue through collaboration with our international network and community leaders.