New Delhi: Disinformation, rumours, stigma and conspiracy theories similar to the Covid-19 pandemic have spread to at least 25 languages in 87 countries, according to a new study. Most of the rumors have been known in India, while the United States, China, Spain, Indonesia and Brazil also have their disinformation percentage, according to the report.
The study, published Monday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, said that of the 2,276 reports for which text notes were available, the claims of 1,865 of them (about 82%) turned out to be false. Of 2,311 reports similar to the new coronavirus, 89% were classified as rumours, 7.8% were conspiracy theories and 3.5% were stigmatization.
“Claims similar to disease, transmission and mortality (24%), control measures (21%), remedy and cure (19%), cause of disease, adding origin (15%), violence (1%) (20%) test notes.
The report, through a bar chart, showed that most of the rumors came here from India, while the United States at the forefront of incidents of conspiracy theorists and stigma.
It took place between 31 December 2019 and 5 April 2020. A team of social scientists, doctors and epidemiologists from various establishments in Bangladesh, Australia, Thailand and Japan collected and tested information. Researchers tracked and reviewed Covid-like reports and reports circulating on online platforms, adding fact-checking firm websites, social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, as well as online newspapers, and have an effect on public health.
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The study explained a rumor as “any COVID-19-centric accusation and discussion that was not verified and instrumentally applicable to online platforms.” Stigma has been described as a “socially constructed phenomenon through which a user is directly or indirectly labeled through his illness, exposures, travel history and moral descents that have led to negative movements and discrimination”, while conspiracy theories have been explained as “s, accusations and discussion of various theories similar to the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and its malicious objectives”.
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Of all the parameters followed, the rumor was the maximum spread. Most of them were similar to disease, transmission and mortality, followed by interventions aimed at measures and infection prevention. Claims such as “Coronavirus is a snake flu”, “Mobile phones can transmit a coronavirus” and “Cow urine and cow manure can cure coronavirus” are among the maximum and non-unusual rumors, according to the report.
“There have been several reports of physical harassment and violent attacks on health care workers, others of Asian descent, other quarantined persons or wuhan evacuees,” the test notes. He said the study experienced 26 episodes of violence-like stigma. There have also been reports of relevant deaths with self-stigmatization in which other people have committed suicide thinking they have a coronavirus.
Citing a case of self-stigmatization in India, according to the report, a boy committed suicide because of the misconception that he had a coronavirus infection. “Relatives of the deceased reported that the user had a sense of guilt and shame for contracting COVID-19 that he thought the virus would have been accidentally transmitted to a circle of relatives with the impression of how society would respond.
The report also cites many other examples. One of the deaths of 800 other people in other parts of the world due to the popular myth that highly concentrated alcohol consumption can disinfect the body and kill. Approximately 5876 were hospitalized as a result of this incorrect information and 60 developed total blindness after drinking methanol to cure the coronavirus.
“Rumor-fueled misinformation, stigma, and conspiracy theories can have potentially serious implications for the individual and the network if it prioritizes evidence-based patterns. Health agencies should monitor incorrect information related to Covid-19 in real time and engage local communities and government stakeholders to demystify incorrect information,” the report notes.
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