Coronavirus Misinformation

Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 02:17 PM IST

Coronavirus misinformation

A group of children and parents protested the hybrid reopening of schools because they would prefer children to attend school five days a week, as before the pandemic. How likely children are to contract or spread the coronavirus has become a deeply contentious issue in the US, with reopening schools essential to enabling many parents to go back to work. Children are known to be far less likely to fall seriously ill or die from the virus: less than one percent of children who test positive for COVID-19 end up dying, according to a Europe-wide study released in June. (Photo | AP)

Trump's Facebook, Twitter post removed for saying children 'almost immune' to coronavirus

Action taken over 'misinformation', but the American Academy of Pediatrics says children appear to transmit COVID-19 less than adults.

06 Aug 2020 5:25 PM

The video, which shows a group of doctors claiming masks and lockdowns were not required to halt the disease, had been watched by 14 million people on Facebook before it was removed, according to The Washington Post. (Photo | AP)

Twitter removes virus misinformation video retweeted by Trump after Facebook took it down

The footage shared “false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19”.

28 Jul 2020 9:04 PM

The European Federation of Journalists, the European Publishers Council and the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) say they are “alarmed by the rise in online disinformation during the pandemic”, which has had “a devastating impact on public health efforts”. (Photo | Wikimedia Commons - Pax Ahimsa Gethen)

Get Google, Facebook to crackdown on fake news, but keep press freedom intact, media tells EU

Among measures urged is a “meaningful” sanctions regime so co-signatories of the 'Code of Good Practice' have an incentive to act.

15 Jun 2020 7:24 PM

We are still not yet sure what does and does not belong on the internet when it comes to coronavirus.

Tech This Week | Now is the time for misinformation reform

Because of liberal laws based on principles of free speech on most dominant online platforms, misinformation is often allowed to stay up.

13 Jun 2020 7:31 PM

In this Tuesday, May 12, 2020 file photo, senators listen as Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a virtual Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions hearing in Washington. On Friday, May 15, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting Fauci has sat on Microsoft's board of directors with Bill Gates as his boss. Fauci has become a target of misinformation as he oversees the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo | AP)

YouTube, WhatsApp abound with conspiracy theories accusing Bill Gates of starting the virus outbreak

In recent months, 5G networks and Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros have also been blamed for creating COVID-19

18 May 2020 10:09 PM

In February, Twitter said it would add warning labels to doctored photos and videos, but the company has since used the label only twice, in part because of technical glitches. (Photos | Twitter)

Get your facts right before you tweet about COVID-19, or else Twitter will label it disputed

The label will alert users that some or all of the content shared in the tweet conflict with guidance from public health experts.

12 May 2020 2:21 PM

it does not make any sense to attack doctors during a pandemic. Until you read Indian Express’ report that fake WhatsApp videos were circulated in localities claiming that healthy Muslims are being taken away and injected with the virus were doing the rounds of Tatpatti Bakhal and adjoining localities.

Stay safe and go back to the newspaper this pandemic

We did not need a global pandemic to realise how big a challenge misinformation is, but it helps.

27 Apr 2020 3:07 PM

Conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus and the vaccines being developed to prevent it still pop up daily on Facebook. (Photo | AP)

As coronavirus hoaxes get thousands of views, Facebook to warn users who 'liked' such posts

Despite efforts to curb misinformation, posts or videos that promote unverified treatments and cures have raked in thousands of views.

16 Apr 2020 8:29 PM

The update has come to India first, in an indication of how widely the platform is being used to spread unverified information in the country. It will soon be rolled out globally.

WhatsApp limits forwards to one chat at a time in India to halt spread of coronavirus misinformation

The messaging app earlier restricted forwards to five chats but it did not prove effective enough against the spread of fake news

07 Apr 2020 2:04 PM

The Google News Initiative is using its extensive CrossCheck network to help newsrooms respond quickly and address escalating content that is causing confusion and harm.

Boom Live is Google's partner in India in fight against coronavirus misinformation

The tech giant has committed USD 6.5 million worldwide to help factcheckers through its Google News Initiative

03 Apr 2020 2:01 PM

Alex Jones still gets to rants and other conspiracy theories being featured as it were the truth.

InfoWars app out of Google's Play Store: Alex Jones's right-wing conspiracy theories now have limited reach

YouTube, Twitter, Apple, Facebook and Instagram had banned Alex Jones from their platforms in 2018 and 2019

29 Mar 2020 2:43 PM

Individual users on social media, rather than rogue state players, are the ones driving the spread of misinformation. (Photo | howtostartablogonline.net)

Beware of fake news, you can't self-test for coronavirus

Social media is filling up with fake news on COVID-19 despite steps taken by Facebook, Google, and Twitter to curb misleading information

13 Mar 2020 7:20 PM

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Mohan Guruswamy