Personal hygiene should be a way of life, coronavirus or no coronavirus, but talks about its importance intensified only after the outbreak of the pandemic. We are being taught how to wash our hands, and to do so as frequently as we can in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak that has already killed thousands of precious lives across the world. Medical experts have said that regularly and thoroughly washing hands with soap and water or cleaning them with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser is one of the best precautionary measures to avoid an infection. The world seems to be doing just that if the sudden spike in the demand for hand sanitiser is any indication. However, the world has failed to check information hygiene with the outbreak of fake news and spam related to Covid-19 continuing to thrive on social media platforms despite governments warning to take stern action against rumourmongers. Considering the harm that fictitious and malicious news can cause during trying times like these, several Indian states have filed dozens of cases against people spreading such content during the nationwide lockdown period. But sharing and forwarding of fabricated news continues unabated. To curb this menace, Facebook-owned messaging app, WhatsApp, has decided to limit forwarding of messages to only one chat at a time.
The world’s largest instant messaging app wrote in a blog post that not all forward messages are “bad”, with many users sharing funny videos, memes, etc. besides helpful information, and some people have even used it to support frontline healthcare workers. “However, we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation. We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation,” the blog post read. This much-needed move has sent out a clear message that so much rubbish has been doing the rounds, and that it will only aggravate the crisis further. Social media platforms, be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat or WhatsApp, have become more important than ever in the present circumstance as it not only enables people to stay connected with their near and dear ones during lockdown period but has also become a source of entertainment. People are also glued to their mobile phone screens for news about the coronavirus, thus providing a perfect setting for rumourmongers to spread fabricated content, and gullible people consume whatever is being fed to them daily. Information is no doubt a powerful tool in combating any kind of crisis but not misinformation; the latter creates unnecessary fear, anxiety, panic and paranoia among the public. This is why it is important to maintain information hygiene by verifying news reports, cross-check the authenticity of a message and even speak to experts if possible. During emergencies of this magnitude, it is best to rely on information provided by the government agencies and traditional media. Unlike social media, and even online websites, traditional media is known for its filtering process to ensure quality and authentication of information before publication. Authenticity matters.