Amid the coronavirus pandemic, passing on information can feel like one way we can support our families and friends. However, it is also allowing for misinformation to spread fast.
If fake messages are sent to a group of 20 people, then it’s shared with 20 others and so on, it can reach more than three million people very quickly.
Untruths can take many forms, one of the most common types we are seeing is messages being passed around on WhatsApp or Facebook groups containing bad advice or fake theories.
Since these are shared by a friend or trusted source, it’s not obvious who wrote these messages in the first place.
Often, they’re attributed to a vague source like a friend’s friend, a doctor, soldier or someone who works for the government.
For example, according to the BBC, a voice memo has been spreading on social media where a woman is translating advice from a “colleague who has a friend” working at a hospital in Europe.
Some of the tips provided are useful, such as washing surfaces thoroughly however it included misleading advice also.
The speaker suggests sunlight neutralizes the virus and that it can be killed by simply taking sips of warm water every 20 minutes but there is no scientific basis to either of those claims.
If you’re not sure the post is true, it may do more hard than good to share it online and if the source isn’t easily identifiable or the story hasn’t been reported elsewhere, it is worth being skeptical about it.
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