As we grapple with the COVID-19 virus pandemic, another virus is lurking out there but it’s one of misinformation. How can you control it and where do you turn to find accurate and credible information?
We’ve become accustomed to cries of fake news over the past few years but with the recent pandemic of Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and New Hampshire’s Gov. Sununu’s declared state of emergency how do we know what’s truly correct or a viral spread of misinformation? When you hop on social media, you need to ask yourself, “Is that story your friend posted on Facebook the truth or not?” before you share without researching.
On March 17, 2020 the world’s largest social media companies issued a joint industry statement via Twitter on the COVID-19 outbreak, promising to combat fraud and curb misinformation shared on their platforms. These giants included Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube. The statement in part read, “We're helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus, elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world.”
This joint statement comes after multiple US tech companies attended a teleconference at The White House last week lead by Michael Kratsios, U.S. Chief Technology Officer to discuss ways to make accurate information more readily available. The official statement about this meeting put out by The White House stated, “Requested by The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the dataset represents the most extensive machine-readable Coronavirus literature collection available for data and text mining to date, with over 29,000 articles, more than 13,000 of which have full text.”
Kratsios went on to say, “Decisive action from America’s science and technology enterprise is critical to prevent, detect, treat, and develop solutions to COVID-19. The White House will continue to be a strong partner in this all hands-on-deck approach. We thank each institution for voluntarily lending its expertise and innovation to this collaborative effort and call on the United States research community to put artificial intelligence technologies to work in answering key scientific questions about the novel Coronavirus.”
The discussion also included how to stop the spread of coronavirus conspiracy theories on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
These development are timely, because according to a US National Academy of Medicine commentary published this month, the need for reliable and effective communication about COVID-19 is key because, “there are data voids and the public health community does not have all of the evidence needed to reliably predict the trajectory of this infection. Unfortunately, this uncertainty creates a ripe environment for both fear and misinformation.”
Back in January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) posted the top 10 ‘urgent’ global health challenges for the new decade and stated, “Public health is compromised by the uncontrolled dissemination of misinformation in social media, as well as through an erosion of trust in public institutions.” This pertains not only to COVID-19 but other outbreaks and a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment on social media in particular.
Health and scientists agree. “We need to have a frank discussion with the tech and e-commerce leaders about taking down health and science misinformation,” shares Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
As citizens trying to navigate and weigh what’s accurate and what’s not, we’re cogs in the wheel that spread misinformation, so this our responsibility too. Controlling spread of misinformation can take many forms including always seeking official and credible sources from official government and health agencies. Don’t forward articles or post information that doesn’t cite accurate sources or worse, any sources at all. Also, calling out misinformation when you find it is often challenging but incredibly important by referring friends and family to the proper outlets for information.
Below is a list of the best, most reliable websites for accurate and up-to-date information on all things COVID-19. Check often and cross check what you’re seeing online to make a difference and turn the tide of viral misinformation during this crucial time for our country and world.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Our nation’s authority on accurate and current public health information.
World Health Organization (WHO): A trusted, authoritative source for public health information worldwide.
MedlinePlus: A service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Associated Press (AP): An American not-for-profit news agency considered the least biased of all news agencies and outlets.
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS):Provides current updates to travel and safety during this pandemic.
US Department of State and Bureau of Consular Affairs: Provides current updates to travel and safety during this pandemic.
Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering: Updated COVID-19 mapping updated throughout the day.
State of New Hampshire: The official site of the State of New Hampshire with current and frequently updated information.