At the frontier of fake news, Infodemic and Omicron— chasing facts

Two years into the pandemic and a new COVID-19 variant, Omicron sparked global concern. But these are different times. We are more cautious, more aware, and the governments worldwide are pulling all strings to ensure that they are better prepared to tackle the crisis. That said, the one thing that put us all at a more considerable risk was the overdose of information. Come Omicron, and fake news stories are stoking conspiracy theories once again. And it doesn’t stop at fake news alone. Overload of information is a more significant concern in our world.

Infodemic, according to WHO, “is too much information including false or misleading information in digital and physical environments during a disease outbreak.” When Prof. Bertram Gross coined the term “information overload” in the 1960s, little did he know that it had the potential to snowball into what we now call an ‘Infodemic’? Waking up to social media updates, a gazillion apps spilling information into our phones, the exponential media boom, there’s no escaping the content overload. The question we should be asking— how credible this content is? Is the world of influencers influencing anyone? Are we consuming the truth? If not, who’s checking?

These questions boil down to how we receive, perceive, and share this content.

Born out of a personal choice— the epidemic of fake news

A choice, billions around the globe are making.

When Covid-19 related fake news stories hit the roof, living room discussions revolved around clickbait stories. We saw one emerge recently, with Omicron, where the poster of a movie titled ‘The Omicron Variant’ went viral on social media. While some of us dismissed it as fake news, others stirred controversial conversations claiming the virus was planted. Eventually, Irish director and writer Becky Cheatle, who initially posted the picture clarified that it was a photoshopped image from a real movie and was meant as a joke.

The real issue is that while some of us understand that it could be nothing more than clickbait, tell that to our parents, friends, cousins, peers who shared the news within seconds. Simple fact-checking before disseminating the news further is the barest minimum we can do. Checking the author’s source is critical, and we are all responsible for checking if the basis of the news is reliable or not. We already know the established media houses, or scholarly journals, government reports, etc., containing the source gives you a clear insight into if the news is coming from a trustable source or not.

How Do You Share Information with Your Circle of Influence?

Every time we send a message, an email, or share a story, we influence at least some people who rely on us for credible news. This is your Circle of Influence— friends, peers, family. It is essential to recognize how your opinions influence people and if you are sharing reliable information with them. You must be aware of your circle of influence. For some people, what you share is to be trusted. Hence, the responsibility lies with you. And recognizing what your circle of influence is, is equally important.

How are you checking the facts?

“In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power,” says Yuval Noah Harari in his book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. While it makes for a great read, how do we get that clarity? Fortunately, we live in a world driven by ground-breaking tech tools. From running a web search to using Fact Check Explorer, verifying images on sources like Google Images and tools that help you ascertain the credibility of photos, apps that help you check if the information on COVID-19 is verified or not, there is so much out there to explore, if only we are willing. In fact, for some of these tools, you can subscribe and run a fact check on the information you are reading or sharing.

Awareness is Key

You must be aware when you consume any information. Do not ignore any piece of questionable content without addressing it or asking the person who shared it to remove it. If a friend is sharing something that does not seem credible, ask questions, inquire, or read up before sharing it. More

than just sharing information, it’s also about how we are consuming it. Is a fake piece of news triggering vaccine hesitation in my family and me? Are we having a healthy discussion about it to iron the wrinkles? We must also check the kind of mental toll fake news can take on our minds at an individual level. Hence, awareness about what we are consuming before sharing is imperative.

Do Not Stick to the Simple

The internet is brimming with inflammatory stories. Our lives are too busy to sift through the information to check their credibility. Most of us choose to rely on simple explanations which require little fact-checking rather than decoding the complex information—practice evaluation. Examine critically. Simple questions like ‘can the facts in this story be proved?’ or ‘is there a face to the author?’ can save everyone a lot of time and effort of reading through a fake story.

Call it infocalypse or infodemic; we must drop the empty talk, tame the course of fake news and filter the information we share. Everything available online to counter infodemic is a tool, and we must learn how to exercise those tools. There is no one-step solution, and it’s a choice. Are you making the right one?

About the author:

Atul Sharma, Managing Director, Ruder Finn India