#BTColumn – The truth vs COVID misinformation

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados TODAY Inc.

by Dr. Colin Alert

The COVID-19 global pandemic has been accompanied by misinformation, a.k.a. fake news and even conspiracy theories, about the virus, how it spreads, and the effectiveness of our efforts in controlling the pandemic.
The issue was so bad that the Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that “We’re not just fighting a pandemic; we’re fighting an infodemic. Fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous”.

Who is starting this misinformation?

The misinformation arises from many sources. We have had Presidents of Countries, in places like USA and Brazil, who downplayed the potential danger posed by COVID-19, and stated that this virus “is just like the flu”, and “in a few days all will be gone”. We have had a Head of Government promote unproven (and dangerous) therapies, including bleach injections.

We have had persons who claimed to be doctors state, in front of a battery of news cameras, that they had identified ‘the cure for COVID-19’ and that they had saved the lives of hundreds of persons who had developed the disease. [At the same time as they are saying this, the ticker tape at the side of the television screen shows the large number of persons in that country who had died from COVID-19].

How is this misinformation spread?
Communication has moved on from the three Ts: ‘telegraph, telephone or tell it to a woman’. The source of news can conveniently be separated into two categories: the conventional media, like radio, newspapers and television, attract one set of people, while newer ‘social’ media, including private messaging apps and streaming sites, generally present their own set of facts and have their own audiences.

One main feature that separates these two categories is the age of the audience, with younger persons more closely aligned to the new social media.

Social media, like Facebook, Twitter, You-tube and Instagram, encourage persons to share their views with everyone willing to tune-in: anyone and everyone can be a publisher.

These sites have many millions of followers, around the world, but also encourage contributors anxious for fame and fortune, even if they have to serve up ‘alternative facts’.

The ‘private’ messaging apps, like Whatsapp, Messenger and TikTok, among others, allow encrypted messages to be spread among persons without any (or precious little) form of scrutiny. ‘Alternative facts’ can also be spread through this media like a wildfire.

Person to person messaging: this is simply ‘gossiping’. Gossip is known to ‘increase in intensity’ as it moves along the people chain. Fake news is spread person to person, sometimes through ignorance, and sometimes through maliciousness.

Either scenario is dangerous, especially when it refers to public health. Generally, genuine public health messages cannot compete with the volume of misinformation generated on even a daily basis. And as most people may have realised by now, once fake news gets a head start, even Usain Bolt may not be able to catch it. Public health messages, which seek to promote the truth, cannot compete head-to-head with the un-truths generated by fake news sources.

What ‘misinformation’ is being spread?
Some of the misinformation includes: The pharmaceutical industry invented COVID-19 to promote sales of vaccines and other medications. COVID-19 was developed by the Chinese government as a type of biological weapon to reduce non-Chinese populations.

Vaccines don’t work .Vaccines cause autism.

The COVID-19 vaccine re-writes your DNA.

The COVID-19 vaccine will cause long term complications.
Vaccines make you magnetic. The COVID-19 vaccines are causing COVID-19 variants. There is a micro-chip in the COVID-19 vaccine which will allow the government (or Bill Gates) to control you.

The unfortunate result, from a public health point of view, is that persons who listen and ‘embrace’ some of this misinformation, are generally less willing to follow public health recommendations, like wearing masks, getting tested for the virus, and coming out for the vaccine.

How should we respond?
Psychological theory (“the science”) states that the best way of dealing with misinformation is to establish a head start in the provision of genuine information: the truth. Our public health officials need to step up their efforts in health promotion if they wish to head-off fake news.

When the misinformation gets a head-start, and especially when some of the misinformation has an element of the truth, e.g., the pharmaceutical industry is making millions of dollars from COVID-19, then conspiracy theories will attract a crowd.

And COVID-19 loves crowds. But these officials also need to identify their target audiences, and identify to most appropriate strategies to reach each target group. This is one way of saying: “one size does not fit all”. This gives us the best chance of keeping ahead of the pandemic.

As this pandemic seems to go on and on, COVID-19 fatigue will continue to grow, as will the reluctance to follow COVID- 19 safety protocols and the pressure to return to the good old (pre-COVID-19 open economy) days. This is very dangerous, and can easily trigger a surge in the number of cases.

Prevention, in terms of a targeted health information campaign, is always better than cure.

Dr. Colin V. Alert, MB BS, DM. is a family physician and associate UWI family medicine lecturer.