UN slams virus disinfo, Turkmenistan is still in denial and Switzerland wants a vaccine referendum
Welcome to the Infodemic. We are tracking how disinformation is shaping the global pandemic response. As Covid-19 cases have risen around the world, so has the torrent of fake news, junk science and conspiracy theories surrounding the virus — and we’ve been watching out for the worst offenders. Here are the narratives that have grabbed our attention this week and deserve yours.
“Covid-19 is a communications crisis. It’s not simply a pandemic. It’s an infodemic and this has cost lives,’ said UN General Assembly President Volkan Bokzir, opening a two-day meeting to discuss the coronavirus crisis on Friday. Bokzir applauded leaps in vaccine development, but warned that “these welcome advancements will only work if people have the confidence to use them.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decried nations that ignore guidance from the World Health Organization. He said that not only do these countries not follow WHO guidelines, some even reject basic facts, “and when countries go in their own direction, the virus goes in every direction.”
Guterres did not name the countries, so we will. Keep reading.
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THE WORST OFFENDERS
From Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro to the president of Madagascar, this newsletter has been hard at work tracking the leading ambassadors of the Infodemic. Coda Story also produced this video about prominent Covid-19 denialists. But, when it comes to dismissing the threat posed by the pandemic, two countries are in a league of their own. They also happen to be the world’s worst dictatorships: