BENGALURU: With work from home and social distancing on in full swing, most people are spending more time online than ever before. From untrue reports of patients succumbing to Covid-19 to audio clips being wrongly attributed, the term ‘fake news’ is floating around as much as ‘quarantine’ and ‘self isolation’. According to Shammas Oliyath, who co-founded Check4Spam with Bal Krishn Birla, 90 per cent of the messages they get for verification now are related to Covid-19. He says, “We publish 2-3 posts a day that report on fake news, and these days, all are related to the virus.”
The impact of such news can be dangerous, adds brand guru Harish Bijoor, who likens the ‘word of digital medium’ to the coronavirus itself. “Digital communication can be viral and dangerous, just like Covid-19. It needs to be handled responsibly,” says Bijoor, who himself second-guessed, albeit temporarily, the audio clip that attributed to Dr Devi Shetty the ‘advisory’ asking suspected cases to not opt for testing. “But I do know Dr Shetty’s voice and realised that’s a fake,” he says.
Explaining how mental health is as important as physical health, he adds, “Different humans have different capabilities of handling disasters.” Bijoor cites the example of a typical WhatsApp group that gets 10 pieces of information an hour or 100 messages in 10 hours. “That’s nothing but information overload. It’s likely that only 15 per cent is true. More than physical health, mental health for many is shaken because more than the physical fear of the virus, the perception of it is larger. Sadly, perception is more important than the truth,” he says.
This misinformation can be misused in different ways. According to Gagan Jain, founder of Cybersafe Bangalore, a cyber security startup, many hackers are using coronavirus to exploit people. Jain explains with an example: An employee working from home could get a message that appears to be from his company, stating that the MD has a message. Or one that urges them to use mobile/internet banking due to reduced office support. In such cases, a link takes the person to an external portal that can access their browser cookies and passwords saved, if any.
“These links are a type of fake news too,” says Jain, adding that the best ways to avoid falling for these are, “Look if the spelling of the link has a spelling error. Also, check for the letters ‘https’ before a URL. If it has ‘http’, do not click on it.”Agrees Bijoor, who says people need to be cautious in what they consume and forward. “Ask: Is it useful information or something that can be put into positive practice? Only if the answer is yes, send it out,” he says.Oliyath, on the other hand, offers a different take. “It at least helps people stay indoor. We need to be careful now, so overreacting might be better than underreacting,” he says.
THE BIG FAKE ONES
Great news! Carona virus vaccine ready. Able to cure patient within 3 hours after injection. Hats off to US Scientists
Something interesting... The 5 pm clapping modi has asked us to do is extremely interesting. This is from someone who’s studied astrology and knows how to correlate with science. At that time Moon is passing to a new ‘nakshatra’ called Revati. The playing of bells and clapping: The cumulative vibration will encourage blood circulation in the body. . It’s the reason they used to have huge, gong-like bells in old Shakti temples on the mountains. Someone very knowledgeable is guiding Modi abt this.
Right now Trump announced that Roche Medical Company will launch the vaccine next Sunday, and millions of doses are ready from it !!!
Oh ! First death in Bangalore. Mrs Rashmi (name changed) from Sadashivnagar succumbed to Covid in Vikram hospital just 15 minutes back. My friend who knows her says their family and friends are isolated. Matter is known since one week.