Misinformation in the time of Covid-19 scare
The Covid-19 pandemic has, among many things, created a space for fake information to spread like never before.
A global pandemic, people isolated and anxious, mixed messaging from officials (you can smoke… now you can’t smoke), constantly updated information about the virus, and a massive surge in online activity and social media use, has resulted in more fake news than anyone could have anticipated.
As World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated earlier this year: ‘We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic’.
Why is fake news created? According to Cailin O’Connor, a philosopher of biology and behavioural sciences, there are various techniques involved in social media misinformation, including the use of influencer networks.
This can be seen in politics and among corporates seeking to establish a certain viewpoint.
South Africa witnessed this firsthand when British-based public relations corporation, Bell Pottinger, was found to have been hired by the Guptas and created racial tensions through Twitter bots websites and speeches.
O’Connor also highlights the importance of social connections on knowledge creation.
We rely on others to provide us with reliable information, and often, we are more inclined to believe misinformation if it’s based on an already-held belief.
This is known as confirmation bias. Basically, you believe what you want to believe and you aren’t going to ask too many questions about reliability because it backs you up.
In the South African context, it doesn’t seem that there are any political motives to exploit misinformation, but rather falsified information being spread by ordinary citizens.
In a Daily Maverick article, William Bird, director for Media Monitoring Africa, said despite the creation of fake news by ordinary citizens, sharing it still hinders the attempts to tackle the virus.
In an effort to curb the spread of fake news, the South African government – under the Disaster Management Act – has made it illegal to spread fake news related to Covid-19.
Anyone who is caught creating or sharing such is liable for prosecution. Unfortunately, not even the threat of prison time has stopped the sharing of misinformation, and so the government has taken to announcing ‘fake news’ stories on its website.
Some of these have included the unbanning of cigarette and alcohol sales; the return of children to school; unemployment grants; as well as regulations related to the national lockdown phases.
All of these are related to elements that will impact a large sector of the community directly, making the sharing of such news more likely.
The ease with which fake information can be shared (and created), and the number of people it reaches, is almost a physical representation of the viral spread itself.
The sharing of fake information is not only distracting and upsetting, it can prove to have long-term harmful repercussions in a time of a pandemic.
With heads of state advocating the ingestion of bleach as a way to combat the virus, we need to be even more vigilant in questioning every piece of news received.
An article by the World Economic Forum advises finding the original story online. Generally there should be a link or reference in the news shared – and then checking this against other media outlets.
In the modern age of reporting, breaking news - once broken will likely be picked up by other reputable media in a matter of minutes.
Most of the misinformation being shared seems to be on the WhatsApp platform. It doesn’t matter if it’s shared by a community leader or your next-door neighbour, if they can’t validate the source, then don’t share the information.
If it’s an announcement by government regarding legislation, go straight to the government websites or social media platforms – if it hasn’t been published there, it’s unlikely to be real.
Some useful websites to check include:
www.gov.za/coronavirus/ fakenews www.who.int www.health.gov.za www.zululandobserver.co.za