Misinformation militates against Covid-19 management

|
  • 0

Misinformation militates against Covid-19 management

Sunday, 29 March 2020 | Dushyant Singh

Misinformation militates against Covid-19 management

The Government should rope in social media giants to plan a mechanism that all searches about the pandemic reach the Government/WHO websites in order to stem the flow of canards

While there is a minor issue like a slight mismatch between the figures of Covid-19 cases in India reported by the Government of India and those by global bodies like Worldometer, the more serious and exigent matter is the coronavirus misinformation that is flooding social media.

We are dealing with an unprecedented pandemic and in such a catastrophic situation, we should rely only on authentic sources of information.  All data and measures taken or suggested are regularly updated at WHO and the Government of India websites. Accordingly, on issues related to symptoms, treatment and other Covid-19 related management practices, public should pay heed to only that information available on the official resources i.e., Ministry of Health at the Central and State Governments or their appointed spokespersons.

Misinformation which is being spread in the public sphere through various social media channels, intentionally or inadvertently, about Covid-19 is going to hinder the management and treatment of the pandemic.

There have been reports on the social media about some people associated with the Government machinery endorsing unscientific treatments to deal with Covid-19.

We need to learn from the experience of other countries so as to not repeat the same mistakes. Nigeria had faced tremendous problems in managing the Ebola crisis due to misinformation campaign in 2014. Even now despite only 39 cases, the Nigerian Government has found it difficult to control misinformation related to Covid-19.

As per a Global Development Community Media (a well-known media platform associated with reputed world development agencies) report written by William Worley and Vidya Krishnan, the level of misinformation being spread about Covid-19 is the highest in India. It has highlighted a number of incidents of conflicting information coming out of official and non-official sources, besides the social media.

Some samples from their report are: 1) While, the Health Ministry, including the Public Health Foundation of India, is working closely with the World Health Organization to launch a coordinated response, another arm of the Government — AYUSH Ministry — has been at the centre of a large-scale misinformation campaign that undermines the Health Ministry's response. This needs to be corrected. 2) Second incident is that of a politician who was proposing raw cow urine (gaumutra) as a treatment of Covid-19, even while the scientists, including those in India, are battling to find a solution.

Similarly if we scan the social media, especially YouTube, one can find solution being suggested by all and sundry, ranging from outright astrology to homemade remedies, without any scientific backing.

Information of some myths prevailing in the social media domain such as “longevity of coronavirus”, “non-survivability of the virus in hot climate”, “totkas”, “possible alternate medicines to cure Covid-19”, “holding the breath, to check if someone is affected by corona” and so on will only cause complications and problems in management of affected cases. Towards this end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong message of not taking any medicines without proper consultation with a qualified doctor hopefully will go a long way in curbing the misinformation campaign.

However, the PM’s call has to be backed by a focused mechanism to eradicate the menace of misinformation campaign. How can we do it? Some of the measures suggested are as follows. 1) Ministry of Health can set up a task force in consultation with Ministry of Information to scan the social media and put out the truth on regular basis in the form of press briefs or press bulletins using all available media networks for countering or clarifying such messages and information. It is not that the task force should respond to every fake and silly news. However, it must put out clarification on any incorrect and fake news item that is likely to cause harm to human lives and national economy. If we do not curb the misinformation campaign in time, the 21-day lockdown may not be fully successful and as PM Modi had warned nation will have to pay a heavy price in terms of unprecedented loss of human lives and economic cost.

2) Second measure could be co-opting the technical giants like Facebook, WhatsApp, twitter and other technical firms to direct all searches related to Covid-19 lead either to Ministry of Health or Ministry Information or WHO sites only, so that people are given correct information. As per the report mentioned above, some of the big technological companies are already helping the WHO in this regard. There is a need for Indian Government to also see the feasibility of doing the same in our context.

3) While the Government has launched an awareness campaign about Covid-19 through caller tunes and advertisements, there is need for a focused nationwide programme on important aspects dealing with the pandemic at a fixed time in the day with repeat broadcast by all TV and radio channels. This slot must capture the highlights of the day and important procedures to be followed in managing Covid-19.

The importance of curbing misinformation can be best understood by the statement made by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He had said recently that “Misinformation about Covid-19 is not limited to India. We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.” Therefore, in this period of infodemic, the safest advice is to stay indoors, wash hands regularly, maintain social distancing, and if in doubt seek early medical assistance and help Government help you in remaining safe.

(The writer is retired Lt General and former Chief of Staff Eastern Command)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda