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Covid-19, information and misinformation

• Yahoo News: “Poll shows Republicans largely dismiss threat of coronavirus.” 43 percent of Americans said they are not worried about it, and 44 percent believe the threat is exaggerated. Among Republicans, following the President of the U.S., that number is 58 percent.
• Social media posts about a book by Dean Koontz The Eyes of Darkness, published in 1981, about a manufactured illness made in Wuhan, China. Another book called End of Days published in 2008, predicted a pandemic in 2020.
• Televangelist Jim Bakker is selling a liquid he says can “cure” Covid-19, and governments are suing him for it.
• Other televangelists claim to be able to cure Covid-19 magically, through a TV screen or computer monitor.
• Social media spreads false reports about protective measures that even a child would know are useless.
• Professional loudmouths claim Covid-19 is a hoax, part of a conspiracy to discredit U.S. President Donald Trump.
• People post on social media that shutdowns of schools, churches and businesses are part of government takeover of private lives.

One thing you have to say for Covid-19: it’s a wonderful magnifying glass on how we communicate in the 21^st century.

With reactions ranging from closing schools and universities, cancelling public events and self-isolation, to others asserting they won’t change their behaviour because they refuse to give into the widespread panic, to others actually panic-buying toilet paper (of all things!), the pandemic (yes, the WHO officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic) illuminates what, and whom, we choose to believe.

Reactions

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has self-isolated on learning his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau was exposed; tests confirmed she is infected.
• Canada’s Parliament has closed until at least April 20, and postponed the release of the federal budget, set for March 30.
• The Canadian government has advised Canadians to cancel all non-essential international travel and is limiting the number of airports that accept flights from other countries in order to streamline testing of arriving travelers.
• Ontario closed all elementary and high schools for two weeks following March break.
• Quebec is also closing all schools, universities, daycares and CEGEPs (sort of a college between high school and university).
• Testing centres are opening outside of hospitals in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.
• New Brunswick’s provincial government has suspended all work-related travel outside the province.
• The Canadian Armed Forces have cancelled international travel for its personnel.
• Norway shut down virtually every place where people gather: universities, schools, kindergartens, child care centres, professional and amateur sports, businesses that involve touching such as hair dressers, massage clinics, cultural events, museums, libraries, buffets, any restaurant, bar or café that cannot guarantee one-metre distance between patrons.
• The Juno Awards set for March 15 have been cancelled this year.
• The National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and other professional sports leagues have all suspended their seasons. have cancelled all games.
• Walt Disney World has closed its resorts and parks in California, Florida and Paris, and is suspending its cruises.

It is literally impossible to keep up to date on this theme. Things are moving fast, changing by the minute.

Responses

The response from U.S. President Donald Trump has been a predictably chaotic stream. They’ve ranged from claims that Covid-19 is a hoax, that it’s no worse than the seasonal flu or cold, to calling it a “foreign virus,” that U.S. infection “numbers” are low, to blaming the CDC for inadequate testing. Even now, the administration is being criticized for continuing to drag on responses, such as making Covid-19 tests available, to making sick leave affordable.

The travel ban has widely been condemned. At best, it’s futile, and is costing small businesses.

On social media, we can see people continuing in denial of reality. Some say they don’t believe coronavirus is real, or that it’s a problem.

Others say they think the news is overreaction, and that they won’t change their behaviour. This is bad for all of us, helping to spread the virus even more. Every one of us is a potential virus vector.

Others claim that the pandemic is part of a conspiracy. I have received messages from people who claim it’s a plot to allow the government to take over all private businesses and even churches.

Irresponsible media outlets like Fox keep stirring up a meta-panic, by telling their gullible audience that “the media” is causing panic over Covid-19.

There are so many misleading claims about how to protect yourself, or about what is spreading it. I won’t repeat them because they’re dangerous.

So many people react by buying up all the toilet paper, tomato sauce or paper towels that it would be laughable if it didn’t actually endanger all of us even more by crowding stores. Remember, it’s not just coronavirus that we are all potentially shedding. This is the peak of seasonal flu season, after all.

Buying and hoarding hand sanitizer is more understandable, but again, misguided and futile.

What it tells us about how we communicate

It hasn’t really changed much. In the face of so many conflicting messages, we tend to believe those people we have a predisposition to believe, and messages that fit our pre-existing ideas. In other words, we make up our minds before we learn facts.

That was the situation before the Internet. The only difference now is that when we communicate nonsense, we can potentially influence more people, farther away.

Remember the arguments over evolution? Vaccination? The round earth? The Bermuda Triangle, sasquatch, the Kennedy assassination? I remember people arguing forcefully about all these things, without access to information of any kind.

What can we do?

1. With acknowledgement to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: don’t panic. Don’t buy all available supplies of anything.
2. Be a skeptic. Don’t accept any statement as a fact until you can corroborate it from multiple independent sources.
3. Learn who is credible and who is not. One good test: what does the speaker have to gain from their statement?
   Another: what are their credentials? Are those credentials credible or not? For example, someone employed by WHO or CDC or Public Health is far more credible than someone who set up their own church, or who is selling a product
4. Ignore those who complain that “the media is creating a panic.” Not the responsible media, that I’ve noticed. The overarching message I have heard is: wash your hands well and frequently; cough and sneeze into your elbow; avoid touching others’ hands; use an elbow-bump or toe-tap in greeting; practise social distance, staying a metre away from others whenever possible; avoid large gatherings; monitor your health, and if you have symptoms, call a clinic or local public health office to get advice.
5. Follow the science. That has always shown to be the right approach to every single crisis.
   Every one.
   Look it up.