Navigating Misinformation and Fear of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
Image source: Lazer, David M. J., et al. “The Science of Fake News.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 9 Mar. 2018, science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1094.full.
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Written by Jessica Song
Given the uncertainties of the new coronavirus, which originated from a Wuhan seafood market, it is easy to see why conspiracy theories and rumours are flying. In today’s age of “information overload,” millions are being misinformed by, for lack of a better term, fake news. In order to not be misled by unverified facts, it is important to understand and think critically about “sketchy” information. According to a professor of journalism at UBC, “When there’s a lack of information and there’s fear, rumours come in to fill that gap.” |
“The reason people are sharing this is because they're trying to make of what is a really complicated situation and also something that is potentially worrying. The danger is that it spins out of control, because fear then takes over.”
Just a few examples of unverified and wholly untrue conspiracy theories include those claiming the virus outbreak was “planned by the government,” or that lighting fireworks would help “kill the virus in the air.” Despite these theories having been debunked with substantial amounts of evidence, misinformation continues to spread online. One likely reason for this is that people tend to share the most alarming information, rather than dull facts or statistics — the scarier the news, the more likely that it’ll spread. Unfortunately, this has resulted in tremendous, sometimes unnecessary, global panic. |
We must keep this in mind when assessing the reliability and validity of a source. According to Forbes, the most centre, unbiased news sites include:
On the flip side, common sense tells us sources like Twitter, Wechat, Instagram, and Weibo are significantly less reliable. Thinking critically and assessing the source's validity is how we can prevent the spread of misinformation, allowing truth and evidence to prevail instead. |