KSrelief launches relief and humanitarian projects during visit of Al-Rabeeah to Syria    66% of 12.9 million extremist messages, monitored by Etidal in 90 days, incite violence    OPEC+ to increase further oil output in October    Saudi Justice Ministry to host 2nd International Conference on Judicial Training in Riyadh    Japan's Prime Minister resigns after election defeat pressures    Red Sea cable cuts disrupt internet in Asia and Middle East    Russia hits Kyiv government building    South Korea to repatriate 300 workers detained in US raid on Hyundai plant    Saudi Arabia emerges global leader in charitable and relief work with over SR528 billion in aid    Over 47,000 transport violations detected during 340,000 TGA inspections in August    Amended Contractors Classification Law regulations set criteria for dividing major projects    Saudi Arabia's digital sector grows to 389,000 workers with record female participation    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    'My mother was my shelter and storm': Arundhati Roy on her fierce new memoir    HONOR to participate in Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 in Saudi Arabia    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops redefine learning, creating and gaming    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



There's no vaccine for infodemic — so how can we combat the virus of misinformation?
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 11 - 2020

GENEVA — What is spreading across the globe, can be passed on unwittingly from one person to countless others, is potentially deadly, yet can be stopped if everyone takes the right steps?
Misinformation.
Heard of the miracle cure for COVID that the mainstream media doesn't want you to know about? Or that the pandemic is in fact a ‘plandemic' — deliberately created to make someone a fortune or to subjugate the masses?
Then you've come up against the virus of misinformation that has spread around the world as fast as the coronavirus itself.
In a world where social media is increasingly where most of us get so much of our information, and where we value freedom of speech as a cornerstone of democracy, what can be done to combat dangerous misinformation?
"When COVID-19 emerged, it was clear from the outset this was not just a public health emergency, but a communications crisis as well," says Melissa Fleming, who leads global communications for the United Nations.
With a huge public demand for information about the pandemic and the rapid spread of false information, the 'infodemic' is putting lives at risk, so Fleming is heading a campaign to help true information surface out of the deluge of rumors and lies.
She has launched 'Verified' — where people can sign up for daily emails on the latest COVID news that comes from reliable sources: "science-based information" that might otherwise be buried on "page 125 of a PDF" presented "in formats that are optimized for sharing on social media."
"It is front-and-center in your social media feeds. So it can compete with the slick misinformation content," Fleming says.
The UN is also encouraging us to stop rushing to re-post potentially dubious content, promoting the hashtag #PledgetoPause.
"We're trying to create this new social norm called ‘pause — take care before you share'," Fleming says. "We're equipping people, through this new social norm, with a bit of 'information skepticism'."
The UN is also encouraging social media influencers to help spread real news about the pandemic.
"So far, we've recruited 110,000 information volunteers, and we equip these information volunteers with the kind of knowledge about how misinformation spreads and ask them to serve as kind of 'digital first-responders' in those spaces where misinformation travels," Fleming said.
Also on the podcast, journalist and entrepreneur Mark Little sets out potential solutions to the infodemic.
He's worked for Twitter and founded Storyful, a social media news agency that had fact-checking at its heart.
He has now launched a new company called Kinzen, which aims to get the best out of artificial intelligence and human editors to combat online rumors and lies.
"I've started to see the spread of misinformation as a global health crisis," Little tells World Vs Virus. "Misinformation is that serious a threat to our society.
"If people cannot trust information about the critical challenges in our world today, whether it's coronavirus or climate change, then we cannot make reasoned decisions as a democracy."
Little says we should be wary of any move towards censorship that would curb freedom of speech but, instead, we need to equip people with the tools to see fact from fiction.
"Misinformation is happening within our friends and families. So we have to find strategies to, first of all, recognize it. And, secondly, as active citizens, just like we wear masks to protect others, we need to be the good citizen, the active vector fighting back in our daily lives."
As well as promoting 'media literacy', Little says social media platforms have to ensure they are working for the good of democracy, rather than against it.
He applauds Twitter for labeling some misleading tweets, but says more is needed and calls for a "root-and-branch audit of the way that information is distributed on all the different platforms".
"There is no easy solution. The business model of the platforms, unfortunately, encourages the spread of this kind of outrageous information. But that has to change.
"I hope technology platforms realize that they need radical change to get back to the original roots and democratic promise of these platforms they created." — WEF


Clic here to read the story from its source.