{"id":114461,"date":"2021-06-24T11:21:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T05:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=114461"},"modified":"2021-06-24T11:21:29","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T05:51:29","slug":"infodemic-due-to-top-down-misinformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/infodemic-due-to-top-down-misinformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Infodemic due to Top down Misinformation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Synopsis<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">: Domestic political actors are major source of false or misleading information about the coronavirus which is concerning many Indians.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">What is\u00a0infodemic,\u00a0disinformation,\u00a0misinformation\u00a0and fake news?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"81\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Misinformation<\/span><\/b> <b><span data-contrast=\"none\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">It\u00a0refers to information that is false or inaccurate, and is often spread widely with others, regardless of an intent to deceive.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"82\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Infodemic:\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">It<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">is\u00a0an\u00a0immense wave of information that includes false and misleading material,\u00a0rumours\u00a0that attempts to exploit the crisis for propaganda for profit.\u00a0Misinformation\u00a0accompanied with the pandemic is known as\u00a0infodemic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"83\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Disinformation<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">:\u00a0It refers to\u00a0false or out-of-context information that is presented as narrative or facts for deliberately misleading.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"84\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Fake News<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">: It is purposefully crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, totally fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0What are the major sources of misinformation?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"85\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">As per recent survey\u00a0one\u00a0in four (23%)\u00a0people\u00a0has said Government, politicians or political parties are the source of misinformation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"86\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Only 16% are concerned about Facebook being a source and 14% said YouTube is major source for the spread of misinformation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"87\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Among messaging applications only 28% believes WhatsApp generate more widespread misinformation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"88\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Only 9%<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0identified activist groups as the most concerning source of false or misleading information about the coronavirus.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">However, Indian authorities are mostly interested in misinformation generating from activists.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Some recent examples of widespread misinformation during pandemic:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"89\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">One, \u2018coronil\u2019 the ayurvedic remedy was launched in June last year by Patanjali\u00a0Ayurveda\u00a0and claimed to be certified by WHO.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"o\" data-font=\"Courier New\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"26\" data-aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">It claimed\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">100 per cent recovery<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0from COVID-19 within seven days of consuming the medicine\u00a0but later it was pointed out that the license was for an immunity booster.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"90\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Two,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Former President of the United States and Brazilian President\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">are prominent international examples for spreading misinformation related to corona.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"91\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Three,\u00a0some politicians have also claimed that\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">cow urine<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0can protect people against COVID-19.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"92\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Similarly, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare last year came under severe criticism for recommending a range of unproved, alternative remedies to prevent or treat the disease.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Why misinformation generating from top is harmful for the society?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"93\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Firstly,\u00a0Coronil\u00a0episode showed how misleading information from prominent public figures and people in positions of authority can\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">lead to bigger problems<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"94\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Globally many reporters have found that official COVID-19 death tolls are far lower than the actual excess deaths during the pandemic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"o\" data-font=\"Courier New\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"30\" data-aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">For instance,\u00a0T<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">he Hindu found this in Tamil Nadu<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0after comparing Civil Registration System data with the officially reported figure.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"95\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Secondly, Misinformation spread by top politicians and promoted by partisan news media\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">destroys the democratic fabric<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0of the society.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"o\" data-font=\"Courier New\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"31\" data-aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">It also makes the fight against corona virus more difficult.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"96\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Thirdly, though top-down misinformation from politicians, celebrities, and other prominent public figures forms a\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">small part<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0of the false and\u00a0misleading.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"o\" data-font=\"Courier New\" data-listid=\"38\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"32\" data-aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">But they have a\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">large share of social media engagement<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0which results into\u00a0infodemic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">That it is why\u00a0top down\u00a0misinformation when people are suffering from deadly corona is more serious. It suggests that government needs\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">holistic approach<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0to deal with\u00a0infodemic\u00a0instead of just\u00a0focussing\u00a0on any one source.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Source:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/Home\/ShareArticle?OrgId=GEP8MPV5U.1&amp;imageview=0\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Hindu<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Synopsis: Domestic political actors are major source of false or misleading information about the coronavirus which is concerning many Indians.\u00a0 What is\u00a0infodemic,\u00a0disinformation,\u00a0misinformation\u00a0and fake news?\u00a0 Misinformation :\u00a0It\u00a0refers to information that is false or inaccurate, and is often spread widely with others, regardless of an intent to deceive.\u00a0 Infodemic:\u00a0It\u00a0is\u00a0an\u00a0immense wave of information that includes false and misleading&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/infodemic-due-to-top-down-misinformation\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Infodemic due to Top down Misinformation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,8043,9],"tags":[8175,8173,406,8174],"class_list":["post-114461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-current-affairs-cat","category-public","tag-covid-misinformation","tag-infodemic","tag-internal-security","tag-misinformation","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1703502343},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}