By Lynn Khaddaj | Staff Writer
With the rise of the coronavirus many outlets have spread information about the virus to help protect people and maintain their safety. Unfortunately, some misinformation on how to stop covid-19 and how it might all be a myth is widely common these days. There is an uproar on every remedy, facemasks, vaccines, and social distancing.
One of these myths concerns the vaccine. It is known that usually vaccines take up to 10 years to be ready for usage among people, as they need testing and time to be approved for use, but due to the spread of the virus, this process was fast-forwarded to decrease the number of affected people. Some rumors arose that those vaccines lead to death and diseases, as they haven’t been tested enough. Moreover, some people accuse vaccines of “magnetizing” the body and causing problems later on in life, therefore we shouldn’t take vaccines as it causes more harm than good. For a short time, it was even said that vaccines have chips that will track whoever takes them. A recent study in the journal Nature, found that even a small exposure to these myths and rumors leads to the rejection of following the public health measures and the rejection of vaccines.
In some countries all over the world, including Lebanon, many people are against taking vaccines and simply rely on word of mouth or what they read on Facebook, not on true researched information done by the WHO (World Health Organization) or another health organization. This shortage of vaccination acceptance is leading to even more Covid-19 cases and fatal deaths, according to the National Bureau of Economics research.
Another example is the usage of face masks. Many outlets discussed how masks don’t prevent the spread of coronavirus and how it doesn’t affect anyone if they weren’t worn. WHO mentioned that wearing masks alone is not sufficient to stop the virus, but it is a needed precaution to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. When many people stop wearing masks and taking precautions concerning the virus, they carry and spread the virus at an accelerating rate, which affects the public and the maintenance of cases.
Some misinformation can be spread to benefit a certain side to gain financial or political gain. This “disinformation” can cause severe harm in a community as it makes people lose trust in the medical and health system. Another outlet is social media, where an analysis showed that over 4.5 million posts include about 70% false information rather than true stories. This causes confusion among people on who and what to believe. A recent study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that 59% of posts on Twitter and 27% on Youtube labeled as false still remain. Facebook has 24% of false-rated content remaining without “warning labels”. Instagram and some social media platforms, for example, show a warning comment on anything related to Covid-19. But some studies show that reading this warning had little effect on people’s responses to these fake stories.
It is a must that people don’t rely on untrustworthy sites or platforms to obtain information about Covid-19, as false information can increase the cases and hurt the public health. News reports should include or talk about some widespread misinformation and debunk myths about coronavirus.