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Writer's pictureTim Boatswain

Fake News and the Virus


The idea of 'fake news' started before the Covid-19 pandemic but it has perhaps reached new heights with all the conspiracy theories about the virus. For some, it has been seen as an opportunity for Bill Gates to try to chip us or it has been doctors being paid by drugs companies to diagnose patients with Coronavirus when all they had was a cold. If it has not been fake news, there has been misinterpretation or even political manipulation of the data on the illness, reflecting bias and prejudice.


Fake news is part of the bigger issue of how we acquire knowledge and know the truth. We know that knowledge is important for us all and one of the greatest concerns during the lockdowns during the pandemic has been the damage done to the schooling of the young. Knowledge gained, through education in the broadest sense, is critical in helping not only children but all of us humans to navigate a complex world. The power to influence our own lives comes from knowledge, so we need to know the truth so that our thoughts and behaviour respond with an accurate assessment of every situation we find ourselves in. Truth is vitally important at the moment because of Covid-19 where the consequences of catching the virus could result in death or long term illness.


The light at the end of the very dark Covis-19 tunnel has been proclaimed as vaccination yet there is much ignorance and misleading information spreading across many societies, especially through social media, about vaccines. Unfortunately, governments and politicians have not helped as they have often responded to supply issues and administrative failures in a partizan fashion, resulting in the spreading of misinformation. The obvious example, close to home, is the fiasco in Europe over the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. If you are being kind you could put the declaration by President Macron that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was "quasi-ineffective" for over 65s as a clumsy misunderstanding; if you have a more cynical disposition, you might see his whole attitude as related to a nationalistic determination, while under pressure from the political right, to promote the French Sanofi vaccines (which are, sadly, behind schedule). Confusion is further fuelled by an extraordinary volte-face by the French Government where the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is being given to the over

65s. At the same time, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, if seen with a jaundiced view, appears to be stoking political controversy, by threatening to ban the export of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Even if this is not about the European Union's complacency or incompetence with regard to the acquisition of vaccines, it is now a paradoxical decision, as apparently few Europeans, as a result of the political machinations around the vaccine's data, have any confidence in the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab so that stockpiles are remaining unused.


The vaccine debacle in the European Union relates to the more general problem for all of us these days which is that we are flooded with contradictory information so how do we determine which sources can be trusted? If we are surrounded by fake news how do we discriminate, and filter out the nonsense from the truth? We are bombarded with different versions of events with false reports, accounts and opinions running riot. Sometimes it may be accidental at other times it appears deliberate to confuse and mislead. If we take the 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, the evidence against Putin and the Russian FSB might have seemed clear to some but by the Russian Federations tactic of sowing disinformation across all forms of media, 'the facts' became confused and muddled for many, especially those outside the UK.


We can't be experts in everything so we have to rely on others - who produce the data and an interpretation that results in 'facts'. The problem is that there is loads of competing information, and it has undermined the public's confidence in the 'experts' and that has lead to 'facts' being perceived as malleable, political and a matter of choice. The increasing distrust in experts has become dangerous. Consider the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Failures to believe in its severity, the effectiveness of preventative measures (such as social distancing and wearing masks) and scepticism towards the development of a vaccine have come about in part because of a feeling that both those who are deemed experts, as well as the authorities, can’t be trusted. This doesn't mean that the public who no longer trust experts are not interested in finding trustworthy sources of information - we all want to know the truth! What has happened is that people have started looking elsewhere, often on social media where they can become trapped in a bubble with like-minded souls. The result is the opposite of being open-minded and can lead to aggressive slogan-shouting rather than rational debate.



Without trying to exaggerate the issue there is a real danger to democracy where differing views have equal value and subjectivity rules over objectivity. It is up to us all to reset our mindsets, consider our prejudices and discriminate in the way we select our sources of information. There is also now the kernel of a rethink across news outlets: social media platforms are now being pressed to stop the spread of misinformation and a new industry in fact-checking has arisen (partly thanks to the fanciful claims made by Donald Trump). However, it will not be an easy road and fake news will always have a force where political corruption, chauvinism and anti-democratic regimes are to be found.


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