Call for Papers - Mis- and Disinformation about COVID-19: Challenges for Health Communication Organisation Issuing the RFP: Special Issue Guest Editors: Sabrina H. Kessler (University of Zurich) & Philipp Schmid (University of Erfurt) Millions of lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). However, scientific knowledge on how to effectively respond to COVID-19 outbreaks has also increased considerably in a very short time (Weiner at al., 2020). For example, several research teams have developed promising COVID-19 vaccines, and, as of April 2021, about 732 million vaccination doses have been administered worldwide (WHO, 2021). Further success in reducing the COVID-19 burden relies on the public’s awareness and acceptance of scientific knowledge. Health communication plays an essential role in the complex relationship between scientific knowledge and individuals’ beliefs and behaviours. However, attempts by health communicators to inform and educate individuals about the characteristics of the disease and effective prevention measures compete with persuasive mis- and disinformation, especially online (Lewandowsky et al., 2021). Studies reveal that misinformation about COVID-19 undermines trust in institutions (Pummerer et al., 2020), decreases willingness to undertake effective prevention measures such as vaccination (Loomba et al., 2021) and adds to the overabundance of (mis-)information that makes it difficult for individuals to find trustworthy sources – an overabundance known as an