what is COVID-19 infodemic?
WHO has announced COVID-19 outbreak as an international pandemic causing countries and regions with reported cases to announce soft quarantines and some hard hit countries to enforce strong measures on public movement.
Social media like Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook have become our major source of information on the developments of the Virus across the world, but these channels are also the biggest source of misinformation hence the infodemic.
Effects of the infodemic.
COVID-19 has been a great source of speculation and spread of propaganda causing mass panic and discrimination. Panicking global public are buying up supplies of toilet paper, cleaning products and food at grocery stores, gas stations, and convenience stores around world, leading to a shortage of supplies.
Many times we consume short writings of information from our social media from unverified sources. The challenge is that we do not have a well developed conscious criteria to sieve fact from fiction and lies from truths. Unfortunately fake news travels faster and is just as bad if not worse than the virus itself.
Hackers are taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to infect your devices with viruses, they send snippets of information that make you curious and add a link for you to click on. A common example being the Corona maps which can spy on you through your phone’s mic and camera, and an email link offering tax refunds due to COVID-19 that could steal your financial and tax information. Hackers append small lines of commands on these links when clicked and websites when accessed which prompt you phone or computer to install virus and malware.
Keep safe from COVID-19 infodemic
Big tech companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook have joined the fight against the spread of false information related to COVID-19. Here are some tips to help you stay safe from the infodermic;
- First and most importantly be informed on the facts, read the WHO Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public
- Seek information from credible verifiable source like the WHO and your local authorities like Ministry of Health. Follow their social media pages and allow their message to take precedence over all others.
- Sadly even our politicians are sharing misleading information, do not believe everything they say.
- Do not click on links on your WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook instead go to your browser and search the site.
- Report any Ads and posts that share false information and inspire panic.
- Avoid reading or forwarding messages that seem to prey on your fears, I personally do not read long messages, or any message that tells me I must read it or something bad will happen to me or I will get a reward.
The spread of false information is as bad as the virus or even worse, leading to mass panic and discrimination. The second order effect of panic and discrimination are causing supply chain disruption, market volatility and economic meltdown which in turn will have far worse consequence. Champion and join the fight against false information, go against the wave, read and share information only from verified and trusted authorities.