The Coronavirus spreads all over the world and fake news travels as fast as the contagion. Never like in this period of emergency would it be useful equilibrium e common sense. Verification of sources and in-depth analysis, before sharing, should be the watchwords in this sea of information distributed through anything but official channels. And instead it seems like a race to see who sends the most sensational and alarming news on the methods of contagion first. Sometimes, to be astonishing, but for their simplicity, are the forms of protection - presumed such - that are recommended by this or that relative, by a friend with knowledge in the medical field or by an informed colleague. And everyone trusts blindly. The chain starts and the message is cloaked in the charm of a secret operation seasoned with that mania for protagonism that makes us proud to have known/disseminated news before the others.
Fake news can do enormous damage. A joint effort is needed to avoid giving in to the will to be the center of attention. It is necessary to recover all the balance necessary for a lucid action of search for official sources and relevance to the indications. Too many people, these days, are proving to not being able to do what needs to be done: either they do more or they do less.
Yet, the way to avoid being prey to hoaxes and misinformation is very simple. Just remember that any video, audio or text message that does not come from an official channel is considered fake until proven otherwise. It should not be shared, but trashed.
Since the beginning of the emergency for the Coronavirus, the fake news spread and promptly denied by the experts have been (therefore, we repeat: THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION):
- The habit of drinking warm drinks and rinsing the mouth with warm water helps to eliminate the virus. FALSE
- The efficacy of vitamin C on patients already affected by Coronavirus as a therapy. FALSE
- Coronavirus can survive up to nine days on asphalt. FALSE
- DIY masks are a great solution to not get infected. FALSE
- To make homemade Amuchina just mix coarse salt, bleach and water. FALSE
- The Coronavirus was created in the laboratory for an experiment that then got out of hand. FALSE
- Emergence is a strategy of tension studied at the table. FALSE
- A tank car carried and had the initials "COVID-19" to identify its contents. FALSE
- Bill Gates predicted the Coronavirus outbreak in 2015. FALSE
- Psychic Sylvia Browne predicted the Coronavirus outbreak in her 2008 book. FALSE
- The respiratory disease now referred to as COVID-19 is a simple flu. FALSE
- In 2009 Amuchina was already being produced against the new Coronavirus. FALSE
- The cardiologists of the intensive care unit of the Milan hospital (unspecified, editor's note) say that there are only 3.000 pulmonary ventilators available and that all the patients in excess of these data are destined to die. FALSE
- Coronavirus only affects the elderly. FALSE
- There is a homeopathic preparation useful against Coronavirus. FALSE
- The Marines have landed in Italy to intervene in a possible popular uprising in case drastic decisions have to be taken. FALSE
- The Red Cross has sent a table with the case history of symptoms for COVID-19. FALSE
NB When “Coronavirus” is indicated, the current “SARS-CoV-2″ is clearly meant
The best remedy to stem the scaremongering and to avoid increasing confusion is to act and do your part against this eagerness to share: therefore it is not just a question of ignoring the message, but the circulation of fake news can and must be actively opposed.
As? It is enough to point out to those who lend themselves to being a vehicle for the dissemination of unverified, incorrect and dangerous information that they are behaving recklessly; which is himself part of the problem.
Fingers are often pointed – sometimes rightly so – at the press, but never as in this case, does it contribute to making the scenario worse than it could have been.
Apart from all the people in good faith or simply negligent, there are those who spread false news on the Internet for a specific purpose: make money with advertising and clicks on your site, enjoy a relatively short period of popularity, ask propaganda politics.
Because, in a period in which everyone would like to commit themselves to something, in the absence of anything else, the commitment againstinformation disorder?
