Guy Berger, the Director for Policies and Strategies regarding Communication and Information at UNESCO noted that some people wrongly believe that young people or those of African descent are immune and that those in warm climates or countries where summer is on its way do not need to worry too much. The likely consequence, he says, is complacency, which could fuel more premature deaths.
The proliferation of unreliable and false information is putting more lives at risk as millions desperately look online for vital news and guidance on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health experts have cautioned that a lot of information designed to deliberately mislead and deceive with malign intent is now being shared through proxy syndicates, online trolls and programmed bots, as criminals exploit the COVID-19 crisis to launch cyberattacks on critical information systems and sell fake coronavirus cures online.
And fears are growing that the phenomenon is putting lives at risk, prompting some with symptoms to try unproven remedies in the hope of ‘curing’ themselves. It is on the basis of this trend that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-UNESCO is leading efforts to counter falsehoods and promote the facts about the virus.
Guy Berger, the Director for Policies and Strategies regarding Communication and Information at UNESCO, and one of the agency’s lead officials on the subject of disinformation News, explains that falsehoods related to all aspects of COVID-19 have become commonplace, posing a threat to fact-based journalism and, particularly during the current pandemic, people’s lives.
“There seems to be barely an area left untouched by disinformation in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, ranging from the origin of the coronavirus, through to unproven prevention and ‘cures’, and encompassing responses by governments, companies, celebrities and others.”
He added that in a time of high fears, uncertainties, ignorance and unknowns, there is fertile ground for fabrications to flourish and grow. The big risk is that any single falsehood that gains traction can negate the significance of a body of true facts.
Berger noted that some people wrongly believe that young people or those of African descent are immune and that those in warm climates or countries where summer is on its way do not need to worry too much. The likely consequence, he says, is complacency, which could fuel more premature deaths.
He says that UNESCO now working to help people become more critical of what is being presented to them online and elsewhere, as fact, so that they are less likely to believe, and spread, falsehoods. The agency is using the hashtags #ThinkBeforeSharing, #ThinkBeforeClicking, and #ShareKnowledge, and promoting the view that the rights to freedom of expression and access to information are the best remedies to the dangers of disinformation.
Berger is particularly urging governments not to impose restrictions on freedom of expression that can harm the essential role of an independent press, but to recognize journalism as a power against disinformation even when it publicizes verified information and informed opinions that annoy those in power.
Because of the scale of the problem, the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the UN’s response to the pandemic, has added a myth busters section to its online coronavirus advice pages. It refutes a staggering array of myths, including claims that drinking potent alcoholic drinks, exposure to high temperatures, or conversely, cold weather can kill the virus.
A team of WHO myth busters are also working with search and media companies like Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Tencent, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and others to counter the spread of rumours, which include misinformation like that the virus cannot survive in the hot weather, that taking a high dose of chloroquine medication can protect you, and that consuming large quantities of ginger and garlic can prevent the virus.
The companies are aggressively filtering out unfounded medical advice, hoaxes and other false information that they say could risk public health. In a rare move, Facebook and Twitter have taken down a post from a Head of State that falsely stated that a drug was working everywhere against the coronavirus.
During a recent gathering of foreign policy and security experts in Germany, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus observed that the world is not just fighting an epidemic but also fighting an infodemic, referring to fake news that spreads faster and more easily than this virus.
UN
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