With the increasing hazard of COVID-19, awareness related to the pandemic disease is spreading too fast. It is the responsibility of the social media platforms to propagate correct information and facts and not to mislead the public by imparting them fake news. Owing to such situations, the government has issued an advisory for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok and many more social media companies to control the flow of such false messages.
“Coronavirus the outbreak has become a global concern and it has been reported that there is a trend of circulation of misinformation and sharing anonymous data related to the virus, creating panic among the public”
said the advisory
The government has recommended social networking platforms to go ahead for awareness campaigns to promote authentic information and not to upload false news about coronavirus.
“Cybercriminal groups are spreading panic and the Indian government is helpless. Daily supplies are getting over fast as cybercriminals piggybacked on Dr. Trehan’s popularity to send fake letter out and created panic”
Pavan Duggal, one of the nation’s top cyber law experts, told IANS
WhatsApp has launched a Coronavirus Information Hub for spreading information about the current pandemic. It has also announced $1 million donation to the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).
Google has added a tool for COVID-19 below it’s search bar to get latest information about the disease. Facebook said it will put information about novel coronavirus at the top of users’ New Feed. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday launched a Health Alert on WhatsApp. Users can ask their questions and queries about the coronavirus and will be given correct information.
