The Infodemic–March 20
Welcome to Coda's Coronavirus Crisis newsletter. We're tracking the global spread of coronavirus disinformation, and what's been done to combat it. Here's the latest:
From anti-American sentiments fueled by Donald Trump to traffic jams in Tehran and unusual anti-virus measures in Turkmenistan, here are a few narratives — real and fake — that have caught our attention:
- As Trump ramps up rhetorical pressure on China in an attempt to refocus blame for the crisis, Chinese social media users are responding in kind. After President Trump repeatedly called COVID-19 a “Chinese virus,” an increasing number of people across Chinese social networks are calling Trump, HIV, and H1N1 an “American virus.” The number of people using the term exploded after Trump’s remarks. “It’s time that we call the H1N1 flu as American flu and tell our children that American flu broke out in China in 2009,” one Weibo user said.
- In Russia, the government media regulator Roskomnadzor has asked Youtube, Instagram, Vkontakte (Russian social network) as well as several independent media sites to delete what it called “fake news” surrounding the COVID-19 oubtbreak. The move deepens fears that the Kremlin is censoring news about the outbreak, making it harder for scientists in Russia to fight it.
Here is the source in Russian, but we have a lot more on the situation, so keep reading.
- On the eve of Nowruz, the Persian New Year and amid canceled public celebrations, pro-government papers in Iran tried their best to sound upbeat. “Let’s turn this threat into opportunity” and “Let your Nowruz be a victory over corona” read the front pages of two hard-liner papers: Javan and Kayhan.
Is anyone listening? Not judging by reactions on Iran’s social media, where people are mocking the government for incompetence and an inability to handle the outbreak or even to create conditions that would keep people home.