(3 minutes read)
· Facebook announced that it is having a pilot project in
Nigeria to help stop the spread of fake news, particularly about
pandemic coronavirus.
· Other tech giants like Amazon, Google etc have stopped
offering products, which claim to be medicines for combating virus.
Global internet giant, Facebook has a task cut out to curb the spread
of fake news as it has been doing elsewhere in the world. Facebook
announced that it is having a pilot project in Nigeria to help stop
the spread of fake news, particularly about pandemic coronavirus.
Facebook said that it will use its messaging app – WhatsApp – to help
researchers gather misinformation and respond with accurate
information. Also, its platform will be available to the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
for spreading awareness about the killer virus.
The specially developed fact-checking organization – AfricaCheck-
will do the surveillance to debunk the false claims, which will be
transmitted through local languages including Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.
Facebook has put in place similar checks and balances against fake
news in other countries such as India and even in some African
countries to curb inaccurate stories about the virus and
advertisements. Other tech giants like Amazon, Google etc have stopped
offering products, which claim to be medicines for combating virus.
In the meantime, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations said
recently that it had arrested a 23-year-old accused of peddling
corona virus related fake news. He is being booked under Cyber
Crimes Act of 2018. In the meantime, the Kenyan authorities had issued
an advisory asking people to desist from authoring, publishing or
sharing unconfirmed information that may cause panic and anxiety.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described the coronavirus
pandemic as the “defining global health crisis of our time”. WHO
Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus asked every country, saying that
the pandemic cannot be fought blindfolded, while new cases have been
reported from countries like Tanzania, Liberia, Benin and Somalia.
More African nations are shutting their borders amid fears the disease
could cause their fragile health systems to collapse. Some African
countries have put in place special funds to help in fighting the
virus. Also, corporate helps are flowing from various parts of the
world for tackling the spread and treatment of the virus.
