Hackers game India’s vaccine system, immunization privileges in the Gulf and Argentina’s chlorine dioxide evangelists
Welcome to the Infodemic and, if you just joined us, thank you for signing up! It’s Coda’s reporter Isobel Cockerell here, taking the reins from Natalia this week. We are tracking how disinformation surrounding the coronavirus crisis is reshaping our world. Here are this week’s narratives, both real and fake, that have grabbed our team’s attention and deserve yours.
Supporters of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are countering criticism of his government's Covid-19 response in the international media by using dubious websites, confusingly titled the Daily Guardian and Australia Today, to get their side of the story across. This week, a host of ministers and BJP members tweeted an article lauding Modi’s coronavirus policies, with the subtle headline “PM Modi Has Been Working Hard; Don’t Get Trapped in the Opposition’s Barbs.” Authored by a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national media team, the op-ed suggests that India’s devastating wave of infections might be a conspiracy, deployed to damage the prime minister’s image.
According to the latest figures, released on Friday, India’s total number of Covid-19 cases has topped 24 million, while daily deaths have reached 4,000. But, if you want a vaccination appointment, you’d better have some serious coding skills. Our friends at Rest of World tell this astonishing story about developers using bots to hack the government’s overloaded vaccination portal and book precious slots.
Meanwhile, in Iran, hackers are tricking people who want to be immunized. Fake texts offering vaccines have been circulating in the country. They contain registration links, which, when clicked on, expose the user’s phone, ask for bank information and send out fresh “worm” texts to its contacts. The country recently imported more than three million vaccines from Russia, China and South Korea.