The Infodemic: From the White House to Madagascar, global leaders’ search for cures spreads misinformation
Welcome back and welcome to those of you joining for the first time. We're tracking the global spread of coronavirus disinformation, and what is being done to combat it.
Below you’ll find a few narratives - real and fake - that have grabbed our attention.
Leading the global infodemic is Donald Trump with his suggestion that injecting disinfectant may cure coronavirus. Some of us woke up to the denouncements of the statement, millions woke up to this:
- “DID EVERYONE GET THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE TONIGHT?” wrote a Facebook user on the notorious far-right conspiracy group QAnon, which has 86,000 members posting around 3,000 times a day. Many of them have been suggesting drinking bleach as a treatment for the past month.
- It wasn't just Qanon: “His words made me literally jump up in excitement” said an Instagram post by a user called “the healthypractitioner.”
- In Russia, media reacted respectfully: “Killed in a minute — Trump names the coronavirus killer” read the Sputnik headline; “Trump reveals the way to eradicate Covid-19,” said another major Russian language news site.
- Breibart said they fact checked reports that claimed Trump suggested injecting people with disinfectant and found them to be FALSE. Anyone reading past the Breibart headline would be confused to stumble upon a video of Trump actually suggesting injecting people with the disinfectant.
Reminder: We reported last month that several people were hospitalized in Nigeria and a man died in Arizona after injecting chloroquine following another Donald Trump briefing during which he promoted hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that has since been largely discredited as a Covid-19 remedy.