Infodemic: Fake Covid-19 deaths in the UAE, South Africa’s rising xenophobia and the Uyghur lockdown
Welcome. We are tracking how disinformation is shaping the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, Coda’s Katia Patin will take you from South Africa to South Korea and Turkmenistan, for the latest narratives — both real and fake — that have grabbed our attention and deserve yours.
First, a bizarre story from Abu Dhabi. This week, a reporter and interviewee were arrested over a TV bulletin, in which an Emirati man claimed that his family of five had died as a result of Covid-19. The United Arab Emirates is experiencing a 10% spike in new cases this month and the story was widely shared on social media. Officials have said that some of the family members named never even existed, while staff on the TV show in question have been fired and fined. Journalists in the UAE can face jail terms if found guilty of spreading what the state deems to be false information about Covid-19, while others face a $5,000 penalty.
South Africa’s response to the coronavirus is fueling xenophobia, according to a new warning from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Back in April, government officials used the pandemic to justify the construction of a new border wall with Zimbabwe, warning that migrants would bring Covid-19 with them. Throughout the pandemic, lockdown measures have been aimed at migrant-owned shops, while those operated by South Africans remained open for business. Now, the UNHCR the country’s deteriorating economic situation is making matters even worse.
In Turkmenistan, media outlets have issued yet another curious health warning. This time, doctors are telling people to “ventilate” their homes against harmful “atmospheric dust” and to disinfect their belongings at least three times a day. Earlier this spring President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov told his citizens to fumigate their homes with smoke from a native grass known as yuzarlik. The Central Asian dictatorship has not reported a single case of the coronavirus.