Coronavirus: Rise of the Infodemic

Have we made the coronavirus worse than it is?

There is no doubt that a virus of this kind should cause some worry, but the amount of worry and misinformation that has been produced as a result of the coronavirus may be excessive. This is a result of social media and the spread of misinformation.

This spread of information has caused worry, racism, and extra work for those fighting the virus. With all of these factors, the coronavirus has become just another prime example of an infodemic.

Blurring the Truth

First, what is an infodemic?

An infodemic can best be described as the spread of too much “information”, causing extreme difficulty when organizations try to disseminate actual facts. The World Health Organization (WHO) is the primary agency having to contend with the coronavirus infodemic at the moment.

With the power of social media, large amounts of information are present for almost anyone to find. The problem with the coronavirus is that the information spread so fast it is hard to know if it is trustworthy or not. This lack of trustworthiness is the basic root cause for the infodemic.

Unfortunately, WHO cannot keep up with the speed of disinformation spread. Because of this, they’re now cooperating with popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to push legitimate WHO-authored content over other content that can be considered “fake news”.

Without this partnership, WHO is left alone to combat the symptoms of the coronavirus infodemic, particularly its main two: rumors and prejudice.

The Spread of Concern

As can be expected, rumors play a major role. As with any topic linked to disinformation, new rumors are launching daily. While a handful of rumors aren’t terribly detrimental in their own right, the problem is that some of these rumors are started by social media influences with a large following.

This creates a drastic difference in what people believe. The rumors already created run the gamut in terms of the coronavirus’ severity, leading to an even worse symptom: prejudice.

This social media infodemic has caused widespread worry. For many, they’re shifting into a “survival mindset”. On one end of the spectrum, this mindset tends to lead people towards feeling protective of their loved ones. On the other, it can build into full-on prejudice.

Since the coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China, many citizens in other countries are beginning to act hostile towards Chinese citizens. This can be seen in how hostility is increasing within China in terms of how Hong Kong is perceiving Beijing. But it extends beyond that as now some are portraying full-blown prejudice towards those of Chinese descent entirely.

With all this being said, if the production of misinformation could be controlled, the use of social media could still be a powerful resource for spreading the truth about the coronavirus. WHO sees this potential and that is why they are working with social media companies to promote their content.

As an average social media user, you should make it a priority to check multiple sources. Do not rely solely on one source, and when possible, try to get quotes from direct sources such as the WHO. We will just have to wait to see if social media can clean up its act and take care of the growing infodemic.

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