Today, Covid-19 represents a clear and present danger to the world. It started as a small fire in Wuhan, China, now a conflagration the world is battling to douse to no avail. This disease has redefined our ways of living, nearly bringing humanity to entropy. We are all on edge, fearful and paranoid.
As we gravitate from the precipice in search of a solution, we mustn’t allow people of nefarious intentions, dastard motives capitalized on our perturbation with fake news and unsubstantiated scientific postulations. The misinformation on the Coronavirus was so rife that the World Health Organization described a “massive infodemic”, citing an over-abundance of reported information, accurate and false, about the virus that “makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” The organization stated that the high demand for timely and trustworthy information has incentivized the creation of a direct 24/7 myth-busting hotline where its communication and social media teams have been monitoring and responding to misinformation through its website and social media pages.
The social media is awash with several medical advice credited to revered institutions on the Coronavirus. Due to the exigency of the situation and the dire consequences of silence, several institutions were compelled to issue rebuttals and denials on the postings attributed to them on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms on Covid-19.
Biological Weapon Conspiracies:
In January, the BBC published an article about Coronavirus misinformation, citing two 24 January articles from The Washington Times which claimed the virus was part of a Chinese biological weapons program, based at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The Washington Post later published an article debunking the conspiracy theory, citing US experts who explained why the institute was not suitable for bioweapon research, that most countries had abandoned bioweapons as fruitless, and that there was no evidence that the virus was genetically engineered
In February, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) as well as Francis Boyle, a law professor, suggested that the virus may have been a Chinese bioweapon, while in the opinion of numerous medical experts there is no evidence for this. Conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh said on The Rush Limbaugh Show, the most popular radio show in the US, that the virus was probably “a ChiCom laboratory experiment” and that the Chinese were using the virus and the media hysteria surrounding it, to bring down Donald Trump.
The US accused countries like Iran, China, and Russia for spreading maligning misinformation about it. It alleged that Russia is behind the disinformation campaign, using thousands of social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to deliberately promote unfounded conspiracy theories, claiming that the virus is a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA and the US is waging economic war on China using the virus.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia claimed on a Moscow radio station that the virus was an experiment by the Pentagon and pharmaceutical companies
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to the United Nations on 9 March, claiming that “it is clear to the world that the mutated Coronavirus was produced in lab” and that COVID-19 is “a new weapon for establishing and/or maintaining the political and economic upper hand in the global arena
Fallacious And Spurious Claims:
Secretary of Health Mutahi Kagwe of Kenya explicitly refuted rumours that “those with black skin cannot get Coronavirus”, while announcing Kenya’s first case on 13 March. This was necessary as the rumour mill was agog with the story of a Cameroonian student in China who had been completely cured of the virus due to his African genetics.
Several viral tweets purporting that snorting cocaine would sterilize one’s nostrils of the Coronavirus spread around Europe and Africa. In response, the French Ministry of Health released a PSA debunking this claim, as did the World Health Organization.
The following claims have been widely shared on social media;
Consuming boiled ginger with an empty stomach can kill the Coronavirus.
Drinking lemon with water can be used to prevent the Coronavirus and cancer, as it increases Vitamin C levels.
Holding one’s breath for 10 seconds is an effective self-test for the Coronavirus.
Hot saunas and hair dryers can kill the Coronavirus.
An ancient Sri Lankan drink can prevent the Coronavirus.
UV light, chlorine, and high (over 56°C) temperatures can be used to kill the Coronavirus.
All the above claims have been disproven. Ginger has not been proven to cure any viral illness, and Vitamin C has also not been proven to be effective against the Covid-19.
Just as Covid-19, fake news is another ailment ravaging the world. Please, be fastidious, pragmatic and sensible. Before you believe or do anything, consult medical experts. This dark cloud will pass. As the quest for a vaccine for Coronavirus intensifies, we need one for misinformation too.
