Social media giants have promoted their strategies to combat misinformation related to the epidemic, which has claimed more than 560 lives in China and spread to 24 countries.
“This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods – like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus – or claims that create confusion about health resources that are available,” Kang-Xing Jin, Facebook’s head of health, said in a statement. A claim that the coronavirus can be cured overnight if sufferers drink freshly boiled garlic water was shared across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in Pakistan.
In the Philippines, videos viewed many millions of claim the virus can be cured with an eye drop made of sap from a local shrub that is commonly used to treat fever and stomach issues. In Hong Kong, the video was viewed almost 900,000 times within a day after a lawmaker shared it on Facebook. “There is absolutely no basis to the claims that various herbs such as perumkaayam can serve as protective barriers against the spread of coronavirus,” said Dr Ashan Pathirana, a registrar at Sri Lanka’s state-run Health Promotion Bureau.