Not Everything we find online is True!!

 “We are not only fighting an epidemic but are also fighting an infodemic”, said the Director-General of the World Health Organization. 

Social media platforms, like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or WhatsApp are used to spread and share information. The info reaches us like a wildfire. These platforms serve as useful means of communication for real and accurate information, and not for the fake. In the current COVID-19 situation, when people are restrained physically, the internet penetration has increased exponentially. Fighting an unknown, unseen enemy, with no definite cure in sight, lots of misinformation and disinformation is being circulated on the internet. The accidental spread of misinformation is the menace and causes fear amongst the people. 

The motive of such posts may be simply to manipulate people’s minds and create biases. Some even see this pandemic as an opportunity to get rich by creating a brand on a false cornerstone, such as the one claiming that the colloidal silver being sold by him would cure the novel coronavirus. The truth is that the colloidal silver is not even safe for the human body!

In this pandemic, miscreants play with people's hopes looking for a cure and use social media to propagate their fake remedies and fool the naïve ones into buying them. During this period, thousands of migrant laborers came on roads and walked down long distances to their home in diferent states, just under the influence of fake news about India’s lockdown being extended for another three months. Vulnerable population tends to get into a panic mode, which is the worst thing in the face of a public health crisis. Actions taken in stress and haste can be life threatening not just for ourselves, but also for society at large. 

How do we overcome this wildfire of disinformation? 

Most important is to remember that we can only get infected by coming in contact with a COVID-19 carrier or touching any contaminated surface but we can indeed be scared to death by coming in contact with rumors. Getting panicky not only breaks us down mentally but also weakens our immune system. We should calm our minds and use our brains, to think straight and sensibly and not be easily tricked. We should check the validity and the source of origin before trusting any news. This can be done by googling the references and news images. 

If it does not show up or show up differently, we will know it is a fake news. If the news is a bit uncanny or debatable and we are unsure about its authenticity, then we should not forward it. As the virus needs a host to spread it from person to person, a piece of fake news similarly, if we refuse to carry it forward, it will die its death. On both fronts, be it the virus or false information online, what is needed is a conscious change in human behavior. 

Most governments in the world are collaborating and dealing strictly with all false information. Many arrests have happened for posting fake news about COVID-19 on WhatsApp. The Aarogya Setu App is an outstanding initiative by the Indian government. It gives not only real-time authentic news but also debunks false information. Let us all download and use this official application and resolve to stay healthy and well informed at all times. Not everything we find online is right, but some real information is that we should stay home and stay safe.