WhatsApp spreading fake news about Coronavirus

There is an old saying that bad news travels fast and in this day and age the same thing happens with fake news on the Internet. All across social media people share what has no truth to it. There are often reports of celebrity deaths that turn out to be hoaxes. Now false information is being spread regarding the deadly coronavirus .According to Tony Rom from The Washington Post, on Friday, only hours after Nigeria confirmed its first case of coronavirus, the trouble began. Olumide Makanjuola, a sexual-health and rights advocate, who lives in the state of Lagos, said he opened WhatsApp and was overwhelmed by a sense of panic. He found that users of the messaging service had copied, pasted and forwarded information that had no basis of truth to it.

This included warnings that local flights. hotels, and schools, were possibly contaminated. Makanjuola said that varying versions of the non verified story made their way through the private WhatsApp groups, some of which had hundreds of people participating. Two of the false messages stated: “The virus is closer to us than we think.” Health professionals and Government leaders are doing their best to contain the virus and now must contend with the half truths and outright lies which are difficult to fight against. As government leaders and health professionals race to contain an outbreak on the verge of a pandemic, they are simultaneously battling another hard to defeat issue, which is the battle against half truths and outright lies.

WhatsApp is a service that is basically hidden from public scrutiny. It has quite a vast global reach and often is at the center of some of the most troubling and panic inducing theories around the world. Those who live in Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Ireland, Singapore and other nations are saying they have seen an enormous amount of misinformation being spread on WhatsApp regarding the following: The number of people who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, the way the illness is being transmitted and also the availability of treatments for the disease. The voice memos and messages on WhatsApp are instilling fear, and have created public health issues for governments such as Botswana which warned people last month to be wary of the information they are obtaining from the app.

The fake news has also caused trouble for businesses in the affected area and even Facebook is dealing with some fallout. Facebook happens to be the parent company of WhatsApp’s and ishas labored diligently to remove or vet similar misleading coronavirus-related content on the social network that bears its name. Unfortunately, WhatsApp cannot be monitored in the the same manner. Conversations on WhatsApp are encrypted, which means that messages can only be read by the sender and recipients. The company itself, even in the midst of a deadly, urgent, international health crisis is not able to read the messages.

Olumide Makanjuola says that he appreciates the delicate balance between security and freedom of expression, which is what made oversight of WhatsApp so difficult. He added, however. during an interview, that the idea of people transferring panic is something that truly worries him. It sound like thetr is not much that can be done regarding WhatsApp but there are some ways to protect yourself against the onslaught of fake news. One way is to take note of the source. There are many websites set up similar to real news outlets, so pay attention to the name. Some of these sites actually say they are satire so reading detail will help. When you see an article that seems suspicious, go to a site you trust ad see if what they are saying confirms what you have read.

When TMZ broke the news that Kobe Bryant had died, I did not trust it. Both my youngest son and I looked at sites like Yahoo, MSN, and CBS before we shared the news with others. This is why a good rule of thumb is to have two or three reliable sources before you run with something. The corovirus is a serious matter and it should not be made worse by false information.