10 SUGGESTIONS TO COMBAT ‘INFODEMIC’

The recent Canadian University study blaming India for major source of ‘Misinformation’ on COVID is unfounded!

By- Dr. Swadeep Srivastava

A recent international study showed that India is at the top of misinformation-affected countries on Covid-19 at 15.94 percent. The other three top countries were the US (9.74%), Brazil (8.57%) and Spain (8.03%).

The study, 'Prevalence and Source Analysis of COVID-19 Misinformation in 138 Countries' analysed 9,657 pieces of misinformation that originated in 138 countries. All these bits and pieces of information were fact-checked by 94 organisations to understand the prevalence and sources of misinformation in different countries.

Certain things need to be flagged in this report. The size of the study is too small. Secondly, India is probably the only country where people speak in different languages. Hence, India has to be looked at from a different prism because misinformation can be due to wrong translation of correct data.??

India is the only nation in the top four that speaks in multiple tongues. Let alone the country, even in districts, different languages are spoken. For example, in Bengaluru district, no less than 107 languages are spoken, including 22 scheduled and 84 nonscheduled languages. This is based on a recent analysis of the 2011 Census by a Delhi-based academician.

The other districts where more than 100 languages are spoken are Dimapur of Nagaland (103) and Sonitpur of Assam (101), said the analysis by Shamika Ravi, a non-resident senior fellow of Brookings Institution, and Mudit Kapoor, associate professor of economics at Indian Statistical Institute.

The problem in India is two fold: Misinterpretation of correct information or data due to translation issues; secondly, spread of wrong information with or without malicious intention. It could also be to get more followers on social media.

With so many languages spoken, chances of misinterpretation of Covid data is not surprising. The new data on India toping the misinformation affected countries will have to be looked into in this background. Rather than accepting the ‘headline-capturing’ study on misinformation, it would be worthwhile to look into areas in India that generated maximum misinformation and why. Further studies should also look into how serious was misinterpretation of data when it got translated from one language to another.

And more importantly, what was the outcome of the misinformation? Did it affect any ongoing health programmes or created fear and pancis.

This makes me wonder how international experts studied and analysed the pieces of misinformation?from India given the situation that even in India such a task is monumental.

Experts in India should further look into the study and carry out research at micro and macro levels. Only then will some sense emerge. Otherwise we would still be combating the scourge of infodemic and do just a fire-fighting job of putting out one bushfire of misinformation even as other such bushfires emerge. More clarity will help authorities and NGOs get a better handle on combating the pandemic of misinformation.

With social media giants like Facebook catering to local languages, the problem of infodemic is bound to get further multiplied in India. The study found that Facebook alone produces 66.87 percent of the misinformation among all social media platforms.

Taking the study further, what needs flagging is that it was during the first wave of Covid that misinformation peaked because there was not much information on the new virus. “Misleading information surges when a crisis first appears and reliable data isn't readily available," said the author of the study Md Sayeed Al-Zaman.

The common thread behind pandemic, panic, vaccines and vacillation is the utter lack of correct, reliable and verified information. This is not new. The flames of every pandemic or tragedy of epic proportions are often fanned by falsehood and people who thrive on spreading fear and doubt, especially when there is an information vacuum. But what is peculiar this time is that misinformation and falsehood are spinning on the mother of all fuels called social media. Everyone is an expert capable of spreading any type of information in minutes. If an element of panic is added to the information, the speed of the spread doubles.

Apart from this, in the initial phase, scientists and doctors too spread different, sometimes contradictory, theories based on small studies or inadequate data. Though much of this information was well-intentioned and without motives, they got twisted and amplified by social media groups and individuals.

But as clarity on the virus emerged, there was a downward slide of misinformation. Today, the situation is that people tend to read and dismiss much of such absurd information. Very few now believe that a few drops of lemon juice would kill Coronavirus or holding one’s breath for 30 seconds can suffocate the virus.

The problem of misinformation is further amplified in India because of internet penetration. As the new study pointed out, India was perhaps the country with very high social media consumption. This coupled with users' lack of internet literacy has given further fillip to social media misinformation.

A report by IAMAI Kantar ICUBE showed that there were 299 million internet users in the past year or 31 percent of India's rural population, said the report. On the other hand, internet users in urban India rose by 4 percent to 323 million in 2020, around 67 percent of the urban population in 2020.

This is a clear pointer that internet penetration in rural areas is growing fast and in fact, the IAMAI report had stated that by 2025, "there would be more internet users in rural India rather than in urban India.” It is here that policy makers should act, not just during pandemic, but also otherwise. India’s rural areas abound in fertile soil for misinformation.

Today, while exotic cures for Covid have died down, it is vaccination drive that has taken a hit in India. But it is not just India; even in the US misinformation has led many people to shun vaccines for Covid.

As Ahmed Al-Rawi, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, where he runs the Disinformation Project, was quoted as saying, "If some people end up believing vaccines are not important or the pandemic is not even real -- it’s a hoax -- this could lead to a public health issue."

So, what should India do to combat infodemic? Here are 10 suggestions:

1.The best option is to have public-private partnership in combating every piece of misinformation.

2.The print media should carry a column daily on ‘Misinformation of the Day’ and get major viral videos on Covid fact-checked.

3.Have online Fact Check facility in every state and every language.

4.Super-spreaders of misinformation should be penalised under the Epidemics Act.

5.Every Covid war room in states should have an officer and staff to scout for false information and send out the correct info.

6.NGOs have a major role to play in combating infodemic.

7.Take the help of ASHA workers in rural areas to spread correct information and put out misinformation.

?8.Since India has many languages and cultures, use all media forms, including folk tales, to kill misinformation and spread the correct info.

9.Award workers and organisations that do outstanding work in detecting misinformation and in spreading correct information on Covid.

10.If Covid misinformation could cause real-life harm, invoke the CrPC and anti-criminal Acts against the spreaders.

It would need a concerted effort to fight the scourge of infodemic.