The Infodemic: nursery rhyme outrage; backlash against Germany’s Fauci; caste-based hate crimes on the rise in India
Welcome back, and a very special welcome to all our new subscribers. We are tracking how global disinformation is shaping the world that is emerging from the Covid-19 lockdown.
Below are a few narratives — both real and fake — that have grabbed our attention and deserve yours. Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Coda’s Gautama Mehta and Katia Patin. Make sure to sign up to get The Infodemic in your inbox every Monday and Friday.
This video of Italian schoolchildren singing a nursery rhyme about facemasks may seem cute — but some anti-mask and anti-vaccine activists were so outraged by it that they launched a campaign of online abuse. After the YouTube video was shared in anti-vaxxer Facebook groups, members began leaving comments like this one: “When they took people to gas chambers, they also sang songs.” Thousands expressed their rage at the children’s parents and teachers by “disliking” the video on YouTube and reporting it as “dangerous for minors.”
Is a surge in caste-based hate crimes being covered up by Indian authorities? In April, we reported how the pandemic has enabled violence against Dalits — people who occupy the lowest position in the Hindu caste system. A new report from The Caravan magazine reveals that such attacks have increased nearly fivefold in the southern state of Tamil Nadu during India’s lockdown. In one incident, a 24-year-old man was murdered by the family of his wife, who disapproved of their marriage, because she came from a higher caste. The situation in Tamil Nadu has received little attention, partly because the state government has not fulfilled its legal obligation to publish monthly statistics on caste atrocities since March.