As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we 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 talking about the NCDC 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.
Some people may not see the need to help stop this large scale of misinformation or may keep asking what the need is for such
Well that’s why we will be delving a little into today’s topic and sharing on How Misinformation is distorting covid 19 Polices and Behaviors
The varied responses to these novel circumstances have transformed both our economic and social life during the pandemic.
From the first quarter of 2020 to the second, The GDP of Nigeria and other oparts of the world fell drastically. With business recording massive losses of up to 41% coming from sectors including arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services and whole lot of other sectors jhst to mention but a few.
It is with no doubt that when the lockdown was prevalent in many parts that it lead to a people panic and new questions were raised about whether and how consumer-facing businesses could operate and whether consumers would feel comfortable going out, even if permitted.
And you will agree with me that the more questions were raised, the more answers were given leading to overabundance of information (What the WHO calls Infodemic) And mostly the overabundance of information comes with a lot of mistruths, and distortion of facts.
The distortion of facts undermines public health in several important ways: It lowers the responses and acceptance of measures put in by health organizations and Government — resulting to misperceptions about various safety measures and accelerate doubts on the efficacy long term mesures proffered by health instuitutions and government — which will in turn result to more transmissions and deaths.
Over time we have also witnessed the weaker and weaker adherence to mask-wearing protocols which we can say is also caused by this facts that has been distorted.
We must also take note that and have our attention drawn to the economic costs of distorted policies on COVID due to misinformation. As such forestalls economic recovery and projections especially here in Nigeria.
The pandemic has been accompanied by a so-called “infodemic”—a global spread of misinformation that poses a serious problem for public health. Infodemics are concerning because the spread of false or misleading information has the capacity to change transmission patterns and consequently the scale and lethality of a pandemic.
This information can be shared by any media, but there is reason to be particularly concerned about the role that social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, play in incidentally boosting misperceptions. These platforms are increasingly relied upon as primary sources of news and misinformation has been heavily documented on them
Overtime we have found medical and health misinformation on the platforms, including that related to Covid 19 control measures and other virus epidemics such as Ebola.
However, misinformation content typically makes up a percentage of overall discussion of a topic (e.g. Fung et al., 2016) and mere exposure to misinformation does not guarantee belief in that misinformation. More research is thus needed to understand the extent and consequences of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 on social media. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter, Facebook and other platforms have engaged in efforts to combat misinformation but they have continued to receive widespread criticism that misinformation is still appearing on prominent pages and groups (Kouzy et al., 2020; NewsGuard, 2020). The extent to which misinformation continues to circulate on these platforms and influence people’s attitudes and behaviors is still very much an open question.
The most important lesson is that the pub;ic begin to live on both exaggerated fear and trivialization of a dangerous threat and this is more likely to slow down any sort of recovery both economically and physically
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We believe the economy will continue to struggle until a vaccine becomes widely distributed. COVID-19 eradication has not occurred in any large-developed country, most of which are dealing with high levels of infection.
Protect yourself by reporting misinformation and Make sure before you share it to read it and check it…
ConnexUs is a global network and coordination platform that creates a collaborative environment for the peacebuilding, humanitarian, development, and public health fields. The platform offers public discussion forums and private messaging features to help facilitate secure and open knowledge sharing. By harnessing the power of working together online, organizations can fill in gaps and reduce overlap in their programs and activities.
ConnexUs is partnering with Blogger and Middle belt Nigeria Influencer, Matthew Tegha to amplify his activities, towards Responding to Global & Local Challenges also in amplifying the Voices of other Influencers Around the World. Made possible by the European Union Instrument for promoting peace and stability.