How To Stop Fake News On Covid-19 In Singapore

With COVID news becoming part and parcel of our daily lives, there are tonnes of updates and potential misinformation going around, creating unnecessary panic and fear.

So what are some of the ways you can fact check the latest updates on COVID-19, and which sites can you go to debunk fake news?

China has been at the epicentre of the COVID- 19 pandemic and information is updated through these official websites.

DXY is an online platform run by members of the Chinese medical community, which aggregates local media and government reports to provide COVID-19 cumulative case totals in near real-time at the province level in China and country-level otherwise.

Since the epicentre has shifted globally to the United States, Europe and other countries, the World Health Organisation’s website provides a reliable global overview of the number of cases and deaths by country. The countries are ranked according to cumulative cases with the most being the United States. For specific country information, click on explorer (https://covid19.who.int/explorer) and select country.

Another reliable site is the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre. It provides similar information as the WHO site, with an overview of the situation with key figures of confirmed cases, deaths and additional statistics on recovery in each country.

If you are looking for updates related to Singapore, the best bet will be the Ministry of Health’s website or Gov.sg official WhatsApp or telegram chats for daily updates on the Covid19 situation. Signing up is easy, just click on the link at gov.sg and fill up a form with your contact information.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health provides daily case summary updates on the total number of COVID -19 cases imported cases, those discharged and clusters.

The information is available on the MOH website and official news networks like CNA and the Straits Times. Despite these official sources, fake news chats and information are still constantly being circulated. So how do you fact check and verify information that has been shared?

You might trust what your close friends or family members shared with you. Unless you are certain, the best is to leave nothing to chance.

Our top tip is to check the source and see if the information or news has been reported on other official or reputable news websites such as the BBC, the South China Morning Post or The New York Times.

Fake news checking sites like snopes.com will help bust urban myths and hoaxes New Agency, AFP has a dedicated site that debunks fake coronavirus news from around the world.

Apart from fact-checking, image manipulation is another source of information that may be harder to verify. To check the authenticity of images try Google’s reverse image search or TinEye to track where the images have appeared online.

Social media giant Facebook is also doing its part by showing messages in News Feed to people who have interacted with posts containing misinformation about COVID-19.

Users who have interacted with posts that have been removed will be shown this message to connect them to the right information.

Some studies have suggested that people share information they strongly believe in or even from fear of missing out. But it is still important to verify information especially during times of crisis to avoid further panic and misinformation.

This is part of the SG United Content Series supported by IMDA. Let’s stay hopeful and stay united! #SGUnited #StayHealthyGoDigital.