Tag Archives: coronavirus

Social Media Sites to Reduce Spread of Conspiracy Theories about Coronavirus



There are few things more dangerous than spreading conspiracy theories about coronavirus (COVID-19) during a pandemic. Misleading information can cause people to get hurt, get sick, or die. Fortunately, YouTube and Twitter are starting to make efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus conspiracy theories, including the one about 5G.

YouTube has added policy regarding monetization and videos about COVID-19. Content must adhere to YouTube’s Advertiser-Friendly and Community Guidelines in order to be eligible for monetization. Breaking YouTube’s policies regarding coronavirus can also result in videos being removed.

The following things can result in a video losing eligibility for monetization:

Distressing Footage: Footage of people visibly suffering due to COVID-19.

Pranks & Challenges: Any COVID-19 related prank or challenge that promotes medically dangerous activities, such as purposeful exposure to the virus or incites panic. It includes the “licking toilet seat challenge”, coughing or sneezing on bystanders or food, and dressing in a hazmat suit and inspecting others.

Medical Misinformation: Content that misinforms users about health matters related to COVID-19. This includes content that encourages non-medical tests or exams for COVID-19, or false/unsubstantiated claims about the cause, promotion of dangerous remedies or cures, and origin or spread of COVID-19 that contradicts scientific consensus. The conspiracy theory that COVID-19 is spread by 5G is included as medical misinformation.

This is significant because, as The Guardian reported today, the UK government is to hold talks with social media platforms after mobile phone masts in Birmingham, Merseyside, and Belfast were set on fire by people who believe the conspiracy theory linking 5G networks to coronavirus.

In addition, broadband engineers have faced physical and verbal threats while trying to do their job. There is a clear link between people who fall for the 5G conspiracy theory and decide to abuse broadband engineers, and the risk of the physical and mental health of those workers. There is no evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus.

Twitter updated its policies regarding COVID-19 and will remove tweets that include misinformation about global or local health authorities recommendations to decrease the spread of the virus, alleged cures (that may be ineffective or harmful), denial of established scientific facts about transmission during the incubation period of COVID-19, or things that can cause widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder.

It sounds to me like the conspiracy theory about 5G causing coronavirus would count as “widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder.” People intentionally setting fires near where you live can easily cause widespread panic.


WhatsApp Bot Gives Out Covid-19 Information



The amount of misinformation around novel coronavirus and Covid-19 is staggering and presents a real danger both to the health of individuals and the wider community. To combat this threat, the UK Government has launched a WhatsApp bot to provide authoritative information on the virus.

The new free service aims to provide official, trustworthy and timely information about coronavirus (Covid-19) and reduce the burden on the National Health Service (NHS) and other under-pressure resources.

To engage with the bot, its phone number is 07860 064422 in the UK and connections are accepted from outside the country on +44 7860 064422.

Using the Covid-19 Bot is a little like using an interactive phone system: it’s respond “1 for this, 2 for that”.

     

Prof Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director, Public Health England, said, “This service will help us ensure the public has a trusted source for the right information about coronavirus, updated with the latest public health guidance and providing assurance that they are not misled by any of the false information circulating.

The Bot doesn’t check symptoms or provide diagnoses – it’s purely for information – but it does provide guidance on what to do if you think you have Covid-19, although the guidance information is UK-centric.

Pressing “7” offers a “mythbusters” section from the World Health Organisation that debunks many of the rumours around Covid-19. Some of the myths are pretty farfetched but now there’s an official source to refute them.

The ubiquity of WhatsApp makes it a great tool for this kind of information dissemination but a downside of WhatsApp is that it requires word of mouth to pass the number on – there’s no central index. So get the word out.