Rumors and Misinformation
This is a curated collection of tools and materials that can guide and provide examples on how to understand, track, address rumors and misinformation around COVID-19.
October 23, 2020
Nalamdana: Fighting COVID-19 Misinformation
This illustration-based video share the challenges of listening to misinformation – it can lead to risk of getting COVID-19. Friends gather (distanced and masked) around a tea shop and discuss what happened to an acquaintance who refused to listen to prevention messages and believed in quack methods to keep COVID-away.
October 9, 2020
Running after Myths and Rumors
This video was shared on Facebook. It discourages listening to myths and rumors such as those that claim that antibiotics or eating garlic can cure coronavirus. It is important not to listen to rumors, but to get correct information from reliable sources.
October 8, 2020
Why Misinformation about COVID-19’s Origins Keeps Going Viral
This report states that pre-reviewed articles and other types of COVID-19 misinformation have gained traction on social media because they take advantage of vulnerable human emotions. Those feelings can drive the viral spread of hoaxes.
September 24, 2020
Eswatini COVID-19 Mythbusters
The ten mythbusters, available in English and Siswati, were developed based on feedback received from chiefdom leadership who identified prevailing myths and misconceptions related to COVID-19 prevention, treatment or stigma related to recovery.
September 2, 2020
Who to Trust and How to Overcome COVID-19 Misinformation in Nigeria
In Nigeria, as in many countries, social media has allowed anyone to post COVID-19 misinformation as truth and fact, while misleading the public and, in some cases, causing real damage. This article reviews some of the major misinformation events in Nigeria during the pandemic and notes the steps being taken to correct that situation.
August 31, 2020
COVID-19–Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public Health: A Global Social Media Analysis
The authors of this article followed and examined COVID-19–related rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, including fact-checking agency websites, Facebook, Twitter, and online newspapers, and their impacts on public health.
How to Report Misinformation Online
As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we all face the challenge of an overabundance of information related to the virus. Some of this information may be false and potentially harmful. Inaccurate information spreads widely and at speed, making it more difficult for the public to identify verified facts and advice from trusted sources, such as their local health authority or WHO. However, everyone can help to stop the spread. If you see content online that you believe to be false or misleading, you can report it to the hosting social media platform.
Immunizing the Public against Misinformation
Proliferating misinformation — even when the content is, in a best-case scenario, harmless — can have serious and even social and lethal health ramifications in the context of a global pandemic. In some countries, rumours about impending food scarcity prompted people to stockpile supplies early on in the epidemic and caused actual shortages.
Teaching Senior Citizens to Spot Misinformation
This article explains that COVID-19 has made the topic of misinformation timely and urgent. Discerning reliable health information is especially a matter of life or death for older people who are more vulnerable to the virus, and showcases projects created to ameliorate the situation.
July 29, 2020
COVID-19 PSAs Zambia: Correct Information
This is a COVID-19 mini-series aimed at informing and engaging Zambian audiences about symptoms, preventive actions and the importance of verified information during the pandemic. As four strangers wait to board a bus, they discuss COVID-19 facts and fiction, and what role religion, social media and correct information has to play.
July 21, 2020
An Exploration of How Fake News is Taking over Social Media and Putting Public Health at Risk
This article reports on a small study which concludes that the COVID‐19 infodemic is full of false claims, misinformation, half backed conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific therapies, regarding the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, origin and spread of the virus. Fake news is pervasive in social media, putting public health at risk.
July 15, 2020
How to Protect Yourself in the Infodemic?
UNESCO and the World Health Organization are calling out this Infodemic and calling on you to be on the frontline for truth. It’s easy. Watch the video for the simple actions we can all take on how to identify false information, verify trusted sources, and help ourselves and loved ones to stay safe.
Fighting an Epidemic of Misinformation: The Importance of Science and Learning in Dealing with Coronavirus
This article states that a key part of the problem of coronavirus misinformation is that the public is effectively presented with various sources of information, through different digital media platforms, sometimes from anonymous sources and other times from figures claiming to have some degree of authority or credibility.
July 1, 2020
Fake News Can Be Deadly. Here’s How To Spot It
This blog was designed as a comic strip, and explains how to detect misinformation about COVID-19.
Coronavirus: The Human Cost of Virus Misinformation
A BBC team tracking coronavirus misinformation has found links to assaults, arsons and deaths. And experts say the potential for indirect harm caused by rumours, conspiracy theories and bad health information could be much bigger.
This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Breakthrough ACTION Cooperative Agreement #AID-OAA-A-17-00017. Breakthrough ACTION is based at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP).The contents of this website are the sole responsibility of Breakthrough ACTION and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the United States Government, or Johns Hopkins University.
