The fight against coronavirus misinformation

Some fake news are spreading quickly, because people genuinely believe they are true. It is hard to differentiate between people genuinely believing and spreading fake news in good faith from people who know it is fake news and spread it in bad faith.

 

I wish I had never heard the term "fake news". It's a very divisive term.

 

Doctors turn to Twitter and TikTok to share coronavirus news
March 31, 2020
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/31/tech/social-media-doctors-coronavirus/

 

African governments team up with tech giants to fight coronavirus lies
April 2, 2020
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-h...iants-to-fight-coronavirus-lies-idUKKBN21K1DH

 

Google is giving $6.5 million to fact-checkers focusing on coronavirus
April 2, 2020
https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/g...-checkers-focusing-on-coronavirus/s2/a753952/

Google: COVID-19: $6.5 million to help fight coronavirus misinformation

 

Nonsense! The propagation of fake news and foreign propaganda is like crying "Fire" in a packed auditorium. That is asinine, evil, filthy, hateful speech and a gross abuse of free speech. Those who call it censorship to control hate speech targeted toward creating racism, bigotry, and FUD during the time of a worldwide health crisis, are injecting POLITICS into this forum, which is very very contrary to its rules and purposes.

The last time I checked, this was an internet security forum, not a platform for political statements.

 

I never said anything about hate speech, although I believe that the term is usually used as way to stop discussion on a subject. I find if highly concerning that increasingly, there are attempts to censor anything that differs from the views put forward by governments and the media, rather than allowing for genuine discussions. I know that I never blindly believe anything that I read or hear and do my best to listen to both sides of a debate, so that I can make an informed opinion.

I also was not making any kind of political statement.

 

So called free speech that (for example) has tried to blame the US Army for Covid-19, and has generated death threats against those doctors who are recommending separation and isolation as a means of slowing infections -- that IS tantamount to yelling "Fire!" in a packed auditorium.

It is inane to define as "censorship" the efforts to place constraints on irresponsible speech that spreads fear, uncertainty, doubt, suspicion, character assassination, conspiracy theories, & hatred. By that token, I suppose inciting to riot, slander, & libel also are forms of free speech -- & the worldwide laws against them are censorship. Gooood grief!

Free speech by social media posters (some of whom are anonymized doppelgangers) & by irresponsible journalists (some of whom inadequately check their sources) -- speech that arouses mob-like hysteria & death threats, and that leads to fear, uncertainty, & doubt -- Roger, are you kidding or do you actually feel this should go on unfettered?

Good for you. However, you are in an ivory tower if you believe that is what all (or even a plurality) of social media & TV news followers do. They don't. "It's on TV news (or Facebook or Twitter), so it must be true." GOOOD grief!

Admit it or not, advocating a libertarian view of "free speech (sic)" IS politicizing.

I shall refrain from further participation in this thread. I enjoy pro & con discussions of 'net security but discussing politics often degenerates into sloganeering & sermonizing -- usually producing more heat than light.

 

Good grief.

 

Do you think authorities were right silencing Dr. Li Wenliang warnings?

 

I certainly don't condone inciting violence. But that's about all that I believe should be not allowed. Too often these days people are silenced because people consider that what they say is "hate speech." More often then now, there's nothing actually hateful about what this say. The term "hate speech" is just used stop people from talking, rather than actually having an informed discussion.

While that is true, sometimes what is reported by the mainstream media is true, other times it isn't. If you censor speech, who gets to decide what is censored? Say for example, only the mainstream view presented by the media or politicians is allowed, what about when what they say isn't true? Surely people should have the ability to express their opinion, as long as they are not inciting violence. Talking about hysteria, the mainstream media sadly does an excellent job of creating hysteria these days, in order to get likes comments and shares on their articles, to encourage people to actually pay money to subscribe.

Anyway, I've said enough. This will be my last post on the matter.

 

everyone has the right free speach and opinions , but it has to be done in a orderly fassion imho. I do believe that this corona outbreak has something to do with biolocgical warfare and taking control on the stockmarkets and domination , believe what you all want yourselfs.....

https://www.disclose.tv/covid-19-true-origins-394354

corona virus patented and lab created :

https://patents.justia.com/patent/10130701

this pandemic was rehearsed in october 2019 :

http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/scenario.html

 

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Myth busters
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...platforms-to-act-on-5g-mast-conspiracy-theory

 

WHO is totally useless organization. In january they were still thinking that this was not serious.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/china-virus-who-emergency.html

2 months later, we have over million cases and over 60 000 dead.
Professional my ****!

EDIT:
From that nytimes article:

“At this time, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O.’s director general, said at a news conference in Geneva. “That doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

Oh really? Maybe Dr. Tedros would like to update that statement now?

And this is the best part:

"Although the disease has reached beyond China, the number of cases in other countries is still relatively small, and the disease does not seem to be spreading within those countries, agency officials said. Of more than 800 cases now reported, the wide majority — and all the 25 deaths — have been in China, according to Chinese officials."

So WHO is not doing any independent investigation at all? They just
take (like the so called "liberal" yank media behind pond) what communist country
officials are telling them ?

Totally useless organization!

 

Why do people believe everything they read?

 

Removing videos, accounts spreading misinformation: TikTok in response to India Today report
"Invalidated or misleading content poses an acute concern," said an official statement by TikTok
April 4, 2020
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...ding-misinformation-tiktok-1663299-2020-04-04

TikTok To Shut Accounts Spreading Misinformation On Coronavirus

 

We're always going to have that. Back in the late '90s everyone passed around an email that said Bill Gates would send them on a free Disney World vacation if the forwarded it to the most people. If I had a dollar for every one of those I received I could have actually taken that vacation. Most of those people are still in this world today, doing what the do best...

 

YouTube moves to limit spread of false coronavirus 5G theory
April 5, 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...nt-spreading-coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory

 

Coronavirus: Tech firms summoned over 'crackpot' 5G conspiracies
April 5, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52172570

 

Where people can argue all day over whether 5G radiation is dangerous or not in some way, I can't believe anyone would think it caused a virus.

 

Wave of coronavirus misinformation as social media users focus on popularity, not accuracy
April 7, 2020
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-04-coronavirus-misinformation-social-media-users.html

 

Philippines Arrests 32 on Fake News Charges
April 7, 2020
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/philippines-arrests-32-on-fake/