As the coronavirus epidemic spreads in France, messages listing “simple and accessible” recommendations to fight the virus have been shared thousands of times in recent days on Facebook and WhatsApp. But most of the time, these messages transmitted massively by simple copy and paste, sending of grouped e-mails or sharing of publication are full of false information.
What are the symptoms of the new coronavirus? How is it transmitted? Can we neutralize this virus? These messages which circulate on a large scale boast of answering these questions by listing up to 12 advices coming from the medical personnel or sometimes from an alleged "researcher from Shenzhen transferred to Wuhan to collaborate with the task force against the epidemic of coronavirus "
This aberrant message is spreading very quickly on social networks. Among other things, he explains that hot tea kills the virus. College students transfer it to WhatsApp in particular. Attention danger. THREAD #COVID ー 19 pic.twitter.com/9Kc7drVJt4
- Julien Pain (@JulienPain) March 15, 2020Drinking tea to "kill the virus"
This is always advice from a doctor, a pulmonologist friend who has worked in a hospital with patients with Covid-19 or even researchers from working groups on remedies for the new coronavirus. Some messages advise for example "to consume hot drinks" because the virus would not resist heat. Or to expose yourself to the sun to "kill the virus".
But what makes these messages particularly dangerous is that it sometimes mixes false and real information like the fact that "the infection does not cause a cold with runny nose or a fatty cough, but a dry cough" or "avoiding taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone ...)".
Mail chains, WhatsApp messages, Facebook posts, fake UNICEF visuals etc ... these messages circulate a lot.
More than ever, be vigilant, only share information from verified sources. If in doubt, do not share, and write to @AfpFactuel https://t.co/SAo50Z84S5
It is very difficult to prevent the spread of this false information on instant messengers like WhatsApp. Unlike a message posted on social networks, it is almost impossible to report the one "sent by a doctor friend". Because the messages exchanged are encrypted from “end to end”. This means that only the user and the person with whom they communicate can read what is sent.
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