Infodemic: Indonesian coffin parades and the unstoppable rise of the health QR code
Welcome. It’s Coda reporter Isobel Cockerell here, taking over from Natalia. We are tracking how disinformation is shaping the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, Swiss pharmacies are being stormed by people in search of a flower extract hailed as a magic bullet against the coronavirus, Indonesian anti-maskers are forced to dig graves, and I look at how health track and trace programs are paving the way for a broader system of surveillance and social control.
Subscribe to the Infodemic, tracking global Covid-19 disinformation
Indonesia has introduced a creative and macabre punishment for those who refuse to wear a mask: forcing them to sit in a hearse alongside the coffin of a person who has died as a result of coronavirus — or even dig their grave. Last week, authorities also put on a shocking parade. Coffins filled with mask-wearing dummies were carried through the streets of Jakarta, before being put on display around the city. Anti-maskers were then made to lie in them to “contemplate their actions.”
In Germany, rumors are flying that anti-maskers could face jail terms. A fake tweet claiming to be by the head of Bavaria’s cabinet, has been doing the rounds within the community. “No penalty is high enough to bring the critics and objectors of our corona regulations to reason,” it reads, calling for "prison sentences for repeat offenders.” It’s obviously designed to stoke division and enrage protestors. The counterfeit tweet is 81 characters over Twitter’s limit and written in the Times New Roman font. But, as we’ve said before, research shows that no matter how poorly executed these fabricated posts are, they still manage to do their job of spreading disinformation.
Next door, in Switzerland, the country’s biggest tabloid newspaper is hailing the red coneflower — or echinacea — as a “corona killer.” This is a useful example of how scientific studies can be twisted. An article, on a herbal product named Echinaforce, which contains an extract of the plant, stated that “the active ingredient of the red coneflower has been proven to kill coronaviruses, even if it has only been proven in artificial tissue in a petri dish so far.” In other words, it has not been through any kind of human trial. Nonetheless, these claims have led to people storming the country’s pharmacies. The craze has also spread to neighboring Liechtenstein. A. Vogel, the company that manufactures the product, is now being investigated for advertising infringements. As someone who was spoon fed echinacea as a child, I remain skeptical.