On December 31 – as the world entered a new decade – China alerted the World Health Organisation of several cases of unusual pneumonia in the city of Wuhan. The virus was unknown and unnamed. Now a Google search of the word ‘coronavirus’ brings up 2,510,000,000 responses.
But that’s part of the problem. There is simply too much information – or rather misinformation – going around about the disease. Stories circulating on social media in Malta last week ranged from a claim that the first case had been detected in Sliema to a fake photo of people queuing outside Lidl wearing face masks.
These stories exacerbate mental health conditions, as we report today, and create alarm and anxiety among the general public, which is playing out in schools, hospitals, supermarkets and travel agents across the islands.
Globally, the misinformation went a step further, with one social media conspiracy theory linking 5G networks to the spread of the virus.
Another common discussion online is that the disease was manufactured in a Chinese lab to be used as a bioweapon in a future world war.
At times, it feels like the spread of fake news is moving faster than the virus itself. The situation is so serious that members of WHO travelled to Silicon Valley last week to meet with Google and Facebook officials to try to find ways to keep the trolls and scammers at bay.
The result? Now when people search the virus on Google, information from reliable websites appear first, while fact-checkers working for Facebook and Instagram are investigating any dubious claims.
Governments are walking an information tightrope. How do you arm people with enough education to get themselves to a GP if needed, but not overwhelm doctors with every patient’s cough and sniffle?
Knowledge is power, but too much is overwhelming and can lead to more questions than answers about what is true and what is false.
Mix that uncertainty with paranoia and you get hysteria – which is already visible. Stock markets have plummeted because investors are nervous. China has the second biggest economy in the world and when it sneezes – or in this case coughs – the rest of us catch a financial cold.
Bank of America is predicting that global GDP growth is likely to reach just 2.8 per cent this year, which would make 2020 the worst since the financial crisis ended in 2009.
Many blame the media for scaremongering and exaggerating the situation. That could well be the case. The Daily Mail still screams alarmist headlines like ‘Britain reaches coronavirus tipping point’.
However, it remains a fact that most of the misinformation is sourced from social media platforms. And Malta is seeing a growing and worrying number of those.
Ultimately, in this sea of information, it is down to the individual to cling to the most reliable lifeboat.
In the case of coronavirus, it is crucial not to rely on tabloids and dubious social media sources but to stick to mainstream information channels, such as the WHO website, to ensure the best way of protecting oneself, preventing spread and on the symptoms to look out for. The local helpline is 2132 4086. If one is feeling especially anxious or mentally overwhelmed by the flood of news, even of the reliable type, taking a break from it would do no harm.
Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you come back.