COVID Vaccine and Your Social Media Responsibility
On Monday, December 14th, 2020, Canada started the journey towards the light at the end of the tunnel. On this day, the first COVID vaccines, created by Pfizer, were injected into Canadians’ arms.
Social media during the pandemic has played a significant role in informing people and continues to do so. As well, social media became a haven to escape from the craziness by doing viral challenges — from doodling, trick shots, baking, and dance-based challenges on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
COVID became a catalyst for news agencies to broaden their social media presence. Access to trustworthy information is now vital when it comes to making the many daily decisions we make.
Conversely, there’s a lot of misinformation circulating on the web. Remember the conspiracy theory that 5G towers give people COVID? Then there was Donald Trump, the world’s most notorious driver of COVID misinformation, declaring antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine being a “game-changer” and during a White House briefing (April 2020) suggesting an injection with a disinfectant, such as bleach, would combat the virus.
I won’t get into the number of “COVID miracle cures” floating around the Internet.
Social media platforms facilitate the spreading of information, which is their reason for existence and mass adoption. Unfortunately, this ease of communicating information has led to amplifying rumors and questionable information, complicating public health response, creating confusion, and contributing to vaccine hesitancy.
There are two types of false information that proliferate:
· Misinformation — inadvertently drawing conclusions based on wrong or incomplete facts.
· Disinformation — the deliberate spread of falsehoods to promote an agenda.
Both are a serious threat to public health.
Last summer, a McGill University study published in “Misinformation Review” found people who get their news from social media are more likely to have fallacies about COVID. In contrast, those consuming more traditional news media have fewer misperceptions and are more likely to follow public health recommendations like face mask wearing and social distancing.
At this critical stage, when we’re turning the corner to head into a post-COVID world, ask yourself: What’s my social media responsibility now?
Your social media responsibility begins with separating disinformation from accurate information. How? By trusting your common sense. If the information in question doesn’t sound right or seems suspicious, don’t immediately trust it. More importantly, don’t forward it, share it (i.e., retweet, post on Facebook), or like it — this will just spread the disinformation. It’s okay to be skeptical. Do some research! Taking what you read on the Internet at face value can be, and unfortunately often is, a huge mistake.
I strongly suggest you adopt a habit of getting your information from multiple sources to make an informed decision. Compare and contrast the information so you can critically analyze the information. There are many digital “one shop” news resources available to provide you with news articles from reliable sources. Being an Apple iPhone user, I use Apple News+. Other reliable news sources I’d recommend: Google News, Reuters, Associated Press, and Newspaper Source Plus.
It’s important to read critically and question if the information you’re reading or was forwarded to you matches up with other reports and with information you know to be true.
When reviewing multiple news sources, ask yourself:
1. What’s the author’s knowledge about the subject?
2. Does the author, or media outlet, have an agenda?
3. Where did the author get their information?
4. When was the material written?
5. Has the material been reviewed for publication or simply posted with a disclaimer?
Suppose the news source doesn’t provide information about the author or isn’t clear where the author got the information. In that case, credibility and reliability are hard to evaluate — a red flag. Sources that clearly state these things are generally more reliable.
A reputable news outlet has an interest in being reliable, reachable, transparent, and straightforward. It should be easy to reach out to an editor or reporter at a publication if you have questions or concerns.
It goes without saying never trust, forward or repost, anything appearing on your Facebook wall, Twitter feed, or you come across on Reddit or YouTube, without first doing due diligence.
You owe yourself to check your sources of information; it’s a large part of being social media responsible. You don’t want to unwittingly spread rumors, inaccuracies, or fake news, which can lead to vaccine hesitancy.
Social media companies are finally beginning to show a willingness to address disinformation on their respective platform. However, those with an agenda to undermine trust in the vaccine will not be using outright lies. Instead, they’ll be leading campaigns designed to undermine the institutions, companies, and people overseeing the rollout. They’ll be posting vaccine injury stories and providing first-person videos detailing side effects that are difficult to fact check. When a radio station asks on Facebook or Twitter, “Will you be getting the COVID vaccine?” the comments will be flooded with conspiracy theories.
By verifying your information sources, refraining from spreading falsehoods, along with washing your hands and wearing a mask while in public, you’ll be doing your part in helping to wrestle this pandemic into becoming a footnote in our history.
On an ending note: One thing you can do is assist with removing COVID disinformation from the Internet by reporting it to the World Health Organization (www.who.int), which has a page on their website with links, on how to report online misinformation.
