According to a report published by five European media experts, “so-called treatments and cures for Covid-19 have been the main topic of misinformation
According to a report published by five European media experts, “so-called treatments and cures for Covid-19 were the main topic of disinformation.”
Fake drugs, prevention advice, artificial virus theory, alleged links to 5G… Online disinformation about Covid was massive in March and April, with some especially viral infoxes, according to an analysis published by five European media experts, including AFP.
Gargling, salt water, chlorine dioxide, holding your breath to find out if it was Covid… “The advice is wrong – even dangerous – and the so-called treatments and cures for Covid-19 have undoubtedly been the main topic of disinformation,” say the authors of the report, which covers Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, the European countries that are among the hardest hit by the pandemic.
Chloroquine, masks, virus, man-made.
At the beginning of February, the WHO was warned of a “massive infodemic”, which would complicate its task and that of the health authorities in the fight against Covid, which has already caused the death of more than 500,000 people worldwide.
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Chloroquine, a drug not known to be effective against covid-19, has been reviewed by “numerous articles” in the UK, Spain and especially France. For example, it could be misconstrued as a drug that has been scientifically validated or “banned” by the authorities.
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Another big trend, masks (effectiveness, dangers of calls…) have also been the subject of countless posts, they are inaccurate or misleading. The theory (discredited by the scientific community) that the virus was man-made.
5G and Bill Gates, already at the center of theories before the epidemic
Several conspiracy theories that were already circulating before the pandemic have been adapted to hit the news, like all those that accuse Bill Gates, among others, of wanting to implant “chips”, the electronic population.
The same goes for misinformation about vaccines or “theories that Covid-19 was created, or made worse, or spread by 5G technology, is very viral in Italy and the UK, according to the report.
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The measures to combat the pandemic have also raised a lot of information, related to “typically national laws, actions and false statements attributed to a political figure or authorities.” Checklists for this type of infox “policy” were particularly numerous in France. In addition to common themes, the report noted some local details, such as pets in Britain or immigrants in Germany.
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This analysis focuses on a review of 654 articles published in March and April by Pagella Politica/Facta (Italy), Maldita.es (Spain), Full Fact (United Kingdom), Correctiv (Germany) and AFP (France). Although the flow seems to have slowed down in recent weeks, information about Covid continues to circulate on social media.
Updated date: July 1, 2020, 2:58 PM
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn