#COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
#COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic: Fighting A Virus On The Digital Front
#COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
As a global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic spills into cyberspace, the world is grappling with an information explosion on social media. In our hyper-connected lives, the “infodemic” ignites fear and confusion in the real world.Â
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An unprecedented wave of misinformation is driving discrimination against Asian-looking people. Viral fake remedies online come with deadly consequences. Social media posts of panic buying fuel more stockpiling, depriving essential supplies from those who need it most.Â
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But the cyberspace also empowers people to harness the internet as a force for good, galvanising powerful movements to help those affected with a click of the mouse.Â
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We explore how social media has helped or hurt our fight against this new coronavirus and ask, which is the mightier enemy – the pandemic or the “infodemic”?Â