Do you believe that information? Spreading new type pneumonia January 28 20:45
The spread of the new coronavirus in China has spread, with 4,000 cases and more than 100 deaths in China. With the rapid spread of infections, "uncertain information" that is difficult to tell on the Internet is spreading. Acts of authorities differing from the facts, information on infected lie victims, virus measures with unclear medical grounds ... We asked what kind of information was available and how to respond. (Taichi Soga, International Affairs Genta Nakamura / Network Media Affairs Naoya Saito, Hiromi Akimoto)
PLA in the city of Wuhan !?
WHO = Wednesday, 23, when the World Health Organization held a tense meeting to declare an "emergency." At the NHK News Center in Shibuya, Tokyo, the height of the antenna was heightened as the spread of the new virus spread, and the tension was growing.
At that time, we were contacted by a special team, "SoLT", which catches and verifies information on NHK social media.
"The People's Liberation Army was dispatched in Wuhan, China."
On this day, the Chinese government announced that it would stop operating buses and buses from various places to Wuhan. If the army were dispatched to respond to this, it would be a big news as a sign of growing urgency in the area.
On Twitter, the following text was posted with a video of men dressed in camouflage uniforms with shields on the train.
"Bake police" is an armed police. We knew the army wasn't working, but we can't just report this information. We explored the highlights.
Analysis of the video showed the railway route map. There is no route in the Wuhan railway network that turns the letter "Y" sideways. It's strange. In addition, the purple poster coloring the interior of the car looks like a world-famous two-eared rat character.
So we looked at Chinese version of Twitter, Weibo. I found comments and videos similar to Twitter. The first video we found was apparently reprinted from Weibo. And in Weibo's comment section, he wrote in Chinese:
This is likely to be lie information. We did not post.
Measures against uncertain pneumonia spread in Japan
Unclear information was quickly found in the country. Most tweets are effective in preventing the new coronavirus.
This tweet was especially noticeable.
At 1 pm on the 28th, more than 3000 retweets and likes were being collected.
Is it really effective? We talked to Dr. Nobuhiro Komiya of Wakayama Medical Center of the Japanese Red Cross Society, who also works on infection control overseas.
(Dr. Komiya)
"I can say that there is no medical evidence. The virus is susceptible to stomach acid, but it can enter the body through the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose, not just the throat. There is no scientifically proven data. ''
Dr. Furumiya said that these illicit treatments flourish every time an infectious disease spreads, saying, "Scientifically based prevention methods are published on websites such as the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and WHO. I think it's safe to ask for confirmation. "
Even local governments have denied the hoax spread on SNS.
Twitter that posted a picture of the screen, said to be the Chinese SNS, and a Japanese translation of the words written there.
"Detected cough and fever from a Chinese Wuhan tourist who entered Kansai International Airport from China and fled before being inspected after being transported to a hospital. Beware of people living in Osaka because there is a high possibility of a new type of pneumonia infected person Was spread by many people.
In response, Kansai Airport, which operates the Kansai International Airport, checked with the quarantine station and immediately alerted on its website and Twitter that there was no such fact. In addition, Governor Yoshimura of Osaka Prefecture posted on Twitter that this information was a hoax, and called for a calm response.
Why do you notice?
How does this information get noticed and spread by people? We decided to talk to Twitter.
According to the person in charge, Twitter has its own algorithm (computer processing method), and posts that are likely to be of interest to users will be displayed preferentially.
After that, he said, "I do not judge the authenticity here, I display all the information that I do not know the truth of and the correct information and let the user judge it," and when the post with the correct content is always displayed at the top Not necessarily.
In response to the spread of the new type of pneumonia, Twitter began searching for words such as "new type pneumonia" and "coronavirus" from January 26 to prevent users from being misled by information that they do not know. Make sure your website appears at the top.
This is the third time Twitter has responded to get the right information, following suicide and anti-vaccine.
SNS that was not in SARS
Social media that allows anyone to easily send information anytime, anywhere. In 2003, when the new type of pneumonia “SARS” spread to China and other parts of Asia, there was no social media with large users.
Twitter, a social media with thousands of tweets per second, started in 2006 and is used by more than 100 million users every day. China's Weibo, launched three years later, now has 400 million users.
Uncertain information
What is behind the uncertain information exchanged on the SNS? Professor Naoya Sekiya, a professor of the University of Tokyo who is familiar with social psychology, points out that uncertain information can easily spread not only to malicious hoaxes, but also to topics where people feel “anxious”.
(Associate Professor Sekiya)
"Not only in infectious diseases, but also in topics such as environmental problems and terrorism caused by pollutants, people are more likely to feel anxious that they may be threatened by invisible threats. It's important to keep in mind that it tends to cause uncertain information, such as hoaxes, to flow.
On the other hand, it is difficult to clarify all medical information, such as infectious disease countermeasures, whether it is a lie or a real one, as things change every moment.
"Medical information, such as measures against infectious diseases, is also debated among medical professionals. The situation may change, and it is essential to confirm primary information from public institutions and medical professionals."
How do I not be deceived
Pneumonia caused by a new type of coronavirus, whose infection continues to expand with each passing day. In the future, there is a danger that uncertain information may flow over the Internet, so how do we deal with it?
What I felt through interviews was to determine who was sending the information and on what basis. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare publishes the latest information on the number of patients and the Prevention Law on its website from time to time. Medical institutions such as the Japanese Red Cross Society have also introduced measures published by the WHO.
We often don't know about this new illness yet, and we can't help but feel unsure if we're okay. That is why it is important not to believe easily when touching information flowing through the Internet or SNS, but to stop and check a little.