From the idea that drinking bleach can kill coronavir to the theory that the virus was created as a biological weapon in the lab, the COVID-19 epidemic has over 2,000 rumors, conspiracy theories, and discrimination. Produced reports and produced erroneous information one after another. According to a new study.
Such false information can have serious consequences — researchers in new research Rumors related to COVID-19 It was associated with thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths. For example, the myth that high levels of alcohol can kill the coronavirus is associated with more than 5900 hospitalizations, 800 deaths, and 60 blindness. Methanol poisoning (It can happen when people drink homemade or illegally manufactured alcohol), the report said. Many of these cases were in Iran where alcoholic beverages are illegal. According to a new report, 12 people, including five children, became ill in India after drinking liquor made from the poisonous seed, Datura, believing it was a cure for COVID-19.
“Rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious consequences for individuals and communities if they take precedence over evidence-based guidelines,” the authors said Monday. I wrote in the research (August 10) American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.. “Health organizations need to track false information related to COVID-19 in real time and engage local communities and government stakeholders to trick the false information.
Relation: 14 coronavirus myths destroyed by science
In this study, an international team of social scientists, doctors, and epidemiologists reviewed social media content, including Twitter and Facebook posts and newspaper and television reports, from December 2019 to April 2020.
They have identified more than 2,300 individual reports of rumors, conspiracy theories, and stigma associated with COVID-19 in 25 languages from 87 countries. Of these, most (89%) were classified as rumors or unconfirmed claims for COVID-19. About 8% were classified as conspiracy theory, or beliefs about people working secretly for malicious purposes. 3.5% were categorized as reports of people experiencing discrimination due to stigma or illness, travel history, exposure to infected persons, or ethnic descent. (For example, the study identified 26 episodes of stigma-related violence, such as the Ukrainian case where people threw stones in a bus carrying people displaced from Wuhan, China.)
Similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, this “infodemics” of false information is riding waves. The third wave was the largest in terms of number of reports, with reports peaking in mid-March, the authors said.
Approximately one-quarter of the claims were associated with COVID-19 illness, transmission or death, and an additional 19% were associated with the treatment and treatment of this disease. For example, there were rumors of drinking bleach, eating garlic, moisturizing the throat, and avoiding spicy foods. Take vitamin C Even drinking cow urine can prevent or cure the disease. Clorox’s website has pop-up messages alerting consumers to the dangers of drinking or ingesting bleach.
About 15% of information epidemics cause or Origin of the disease.. For example, some conspiracy theories suggested that COVID-19 was designed as a biological weapon.
“Governments and other agencies must understand the patterns of COVID-19-related rumors, stigma, conspiracy, and conspiracy theory around the world,” they better convey the COVID-19 information and mislead. The authors said it could be tricked.
The authors recommend that governments and health agencies continue to publish accurate scientific information about COVID-19 on their website. In addition, the agency concluded that it is necessary to not only identify and deceive the rumor of COVID-19, but also work with social media companies to “disseminate the right information.”
Originally published in Live Science.
