The other infection: 'infodemic'

Just when we started fastening our belts and lacing our boots to take on the monster of coronavirus, she, he, I don’t even know, overtook us by surprise.

The president only alerted us to gear up, and hmmm, the monster appeared. Obviously the threat we are facing now is real. More so because of the fact that we have had 2 heart-wrenching press briefings from the Government.

Whether or not the truth has been massaged, misrepresented or concealed, we ought to appreciate the sensitivity of the matter and act accordingly.

We owe ourselves, our loved ones and our communities a sacred duty of care. We cannot afford to take chances. Let us abide by the basic precautionary measures, as preached by our medical professionals, and as believers, we cannot afford to ignore prayer.

3 things that I am particularly concerned about as should all of us, I believe. They are the things we cannot afford to ignore. 2 of them I have already mentioned: precautions and prayer. The last being misinformation.

The last of the three is the focus of this endeavour. The world is battling with 2 viral infections right now. We have the demon of coronavirus and its twin ‘broster’, misinformation, otherwise referred to as ‘infodemic’. Just as coronavirus spreads like wildfire, so is misinformation. And so, whereas all over the world efforts are been geared towards containing the virus, scant attention is paid to curtailing or containing misinformation.

The threat of ‘infodemic’ is as real as the threat posed by a coronavirus. Much of the fear that has penetrated the hearts of humanity is more of a consequence of misinformation about coronavirus than coronavirus itself. There is just so much propagation of mistruths and untruths about this issue. We must find a comprehensive way of dealing with this other infection of an ‘infodemic’.

And while I applaud the likes of Google and Facebook for their commendable efforts in that regard, I still hope that more will be done to regulate the false propagation regarding the source, the nature and the cure of coronavirus.

In the meanwhile, we all owe ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities a duty of care to avoid the sharing of unauthenticated information. Let us take it upon ourselves to help pull down any misinformation that is out there, and enjoin others to do same.

Let us join the fight against ‘infodemic’. You may visit the following websites for verified details about the pandemic.