False Information About the Coronavirus

Currently there is a pandemic around the world caused by the coronavirus. It has caused an uproar all over the world and it is extremely contagious causing people to have to self quarantine. Recently basically every college has been sent home for the rest of the spring semester and schools and jobs have been sent home indefinitely. This leads to working from home and college students and many other students k-12 doing school from online. With increased internet use caused by boredom of staying home people have been o social media a lot so that’s where many people tend to see their information but not all of it may be true. In the article “Social Media Fuels Spread of Covid-19 Information and Misinformation” it informs us that “Dredze’s team recently launched a website, Social Media for public Health, which aims to combat misinformation, support messaging from public health organizations, and track information about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.” This is very helpful because many people like myself want to look more into the virus but there are so many different articles out there currently that it is hard to keep track of. Social media has played many roles to the pandemic like a way to connect with friends and family still, a source of entertainment, and much more. In the article it says “The covid-19 pandemic is at scale that we have never seeing these of social media. And it is critical to use social media to understand what kind of information is being shared and what people believe in order to ensure effective policy.” This basically mean there has ever been something like the Coronavirus that has such a huge effect on the whole world during the age where social media is so popular. Social media is not only doing bead it is also doing a lot of good during this pandemic.

https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/03/27/mark-dredze-social-media-misinformation/

4 thoughts on “False Information About the Coronavirus

  1. The coronavirus has taken the world by surprise and the damage that it is causing is escalating quickly. I feel like because a lot of people are now staying home, they have nothing to do but watch and look at all different forms of news that is talking about the coronavirus because they want to be updated. Initially, I know that governors were urging people to get their information from the CDC website. It is unfortunate that news outlets and others are spreading false information because it can affect the way others act while being in quarantine. Some might not take it as seriously as they should, and this can affect many people, especially the ones that are immunocompromised. President Trump has miscommunicated a lot about the coronavirus and what you can take to combat it. The things that he has suggested could be dangerous and have not been tested fully as medical professionals do not agree with him. By speaking out, people will defiantly try these drugs if they have them on hand and they can become harmful.

  2. This article is similar to the one I wrote about for my post. Google recently announced that all of their advertisers now have to verify their identities before being accepted. This policy change is in response to an increase of false information related to the Corona Virus. This pandemic is a very problematic time for many companies and the acts of individuals trying to profit from these issues and come out on top have made things harder for a lot of us. A crisis gives people the chance to exploit others for personal gain but is also the time where we need to take ethics the most serious. Cooperation in times like these is important and we should strive to hold groups and individuals that spread disinformation accountable.

  3. I think that the false information going around is especially relevant now that there is an actual epidemic occurring in the world. Social media has definitely facilitated the spread of this false information online. People are sharing articles or even opinions written without fact and instead meant to just create clicks. You can even see that recently, Donald Trump said something along the lines of “disinfectants can be used to inject humans and cure the coronavirus.” This is obviously not true. Consuming disinfectants is a common method of suicide. But some people spread this around enough that some people can believe it. It is critical that people realize information shared on social media may not be accurate and to always do the research themselves.

    https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/2019-novel-coronavirus-myth-versus-fact

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-suggests-injection-disinfectant-beat-coronavirus-clean-lungs-n1191216

  4. I completely agree with your insights on the coronavirus and how it is impacting social media and its users. I feel as though one of the most recent examples of the spread of misinformation over social media is the apparent “death” of North Korean minister Kim Jong Un. There are so many rumors claiming that he was killed during a botched heart surgery, and others claiming that he is doing just fine. This is a good representation of what can happen whenever so many people have access to this information. As I learned in my Comm 205 class, everyone with a platform is a journalist and has journalistic abilities. This is why it’s important to not always believe everything on the internet.

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