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Ever since the Corona Virus has gripped the world, all the government machinery has swung into action. Some reacted it in time while others didn’t and we have a grim picture of how things are 🙁 Cancellation of flights, barring movement of people, social distancing along with Coronavirus Fake news are on the rise. This blog post is my effort towards battling Coronavirus fake news.
Coronavirus Fake News on the rise
Unfortunately the Corona virus cases are on the rise (that too at a fast pace :() Governments world wide are reaching out to people to stay indoors and follow social distancing. However it isn’t being implemented well. At one side we have people heading to Miami to celebrate Spring while at the other, we have Janta Curfew. Amdist all of these, there are elements that are focused on spreading fake news about Corona virus. Thanks to Social Media, spreading coronavirus fake news is easier than ever. From Whatsapp forwards to twitter tweets, there’s a battle going on to stop the spread of Coronavirus Fake News on Social Media.
Coronavirus Fake News in Hyderabad
One of the recent Coronavirus fake news that I came across is about a Covid-19 positive case at Wipro Hyderabad campus. I came across one tweet where the person claimed that there was a positive coronavirus case in Wipro Hyderabad campus. The tweet soon landed up in Whatsapp groups and Instagram when people started contacting me to verify. Obviously me being in the same campus was aware of the true story.
Upon spending some time on Twitter, I realized the coronavirus fake news doing rounds. As per my tweet above, you see there area people who are sharing the same tweet tagging the local police and ministers and spreading coronavirus fake news. There’s no such situation at the campus in Hyderabad and this is completely fake news. I have reported all these profiles to Twitter for strict action against them for spreading coronavirus fake news and spam.
How to spot Coronavirus fake news ?
I’m sure you would have come across a lot of messages, images and videos about Corona virus in Whatsapp or any other app. Before you blindly forward that to another ground, please verify and spot fake news. Being a responsible citizen, it’s our duty to stop the spread of fake news related to corona virus pandemic. So how can you spot Coronavirus fake news ?
- When you receive the suspected coronavirus fake news message, Google for the message, especially in the news section. If there’s nothing about it, it’s probably fake news.
- Also check for the message on social media for validation. Just like I did, I realized it was few accounts spreading the same coronavirus fake message.
- Check the profile of the person sharing the message. Look at their sharing history, when they joined, their followers, bio. These will help you spot a fake/spam account.
- Lastly, verify with people on ground for the authentic news. These are the best people to reach out to for the real story.
Stop Coronavirus Fake News – we have bigger battles to fight
In wake of the Corona virus pandemic, the entire world is reeling under the deadly siege of the virus. It’s a moment when all of us should come together and support (come together as in not really) each other. Maintain social distancing at all times and hygiene. Stay away from crowd and self quarantine yourself. Above all, help stop spreading of Coronavirus fake news. Did you come across a fake news pertaining to Corona virus ? Mention in the comments below or tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj or DM me on Instagram.
