As early as February this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) dubbed the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as a massive infodemic. The plethora of information makes it challenging for people to look for trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.
I watched the viral video of United States-based Nigerian-trained doctor Stella Immanuel before Facebook, YouTube and Twitter took it down for promoting misinformation. Dr. Immanuel claimed to have treated over 350 Covid-infected people in the US using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), zinc and Zithromax. US President Donald Trump even shared multiple accounts of the video with his 84 million Twitter followers. I flagged it as false news on Facebook because the doctor said, “You don’t need a mask. There is a cure.” I think Dr. Immanuel was too excited and exaggerated in saying that HCQ was a cure and the wearing of face masks was not needed. Half-truths on HCQ shared with false contextual information is a type of misinformation.
Continue reading with one of these options:
Ad-free access
P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
- Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
- Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)