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U.S. NEWS Thursday 30 July 2020
Misinformation on the virus is proving highly contagious

Continued from Front The mixed signals hurt,
Fauci acknowledged on
“It is a real challenge in an interview with NPR this
terms of trying to get the month. “The message early
message to the public on became confusing,” he
about what they can re- said. Many of the claims
ally do to protect themsel- around masks allege harm-
ves and what the facts are ful effects, such as blocked
behind the problem., said oxygen flow or even a gre-
Michael Osterholm, head ater chance of infection.
of the University of Minne- The claims have been wi-
sota’s Center for Infectious dely debunked by doctors.
Disease Research and Po- Dr. Maitiu O Tuathail of Ire-
licy. land grew so concerned
He said the fear is that about mask misinforma-
“people are putting them- tion he posted an online
selves in harm’s way be- video of himself comforta-
cause they don’t believe bly wearing a mask while
the virus is something they measuring his oxygen le-
have to deal with.” vels. The video has been
Rather than fade away in viewed more than 20 mil-
the face of new evidence, lion times.
the claims have flourished, “While face masks don’t
fed by mixed messages In this July 17, 2020, file photo, a health care worker sanitizes her equipment while working at a lower your oxygen levels.
from officials, transmitted walk-up COVID-19 testing site during the coronavirus pandemic in Miami Beach, Fla. COVID definitely does,” he
Associated Press
by social media, amplified warned. Yet trusted me-
by leaders like Trump and half-human “reptilians” could make you sick — the mask mandate. Still, mask dical authorities are often
mutating when confronted work in the government. false claim Facebook cited skeptics are a vocal mino- being dismissed by those
with contradictory facts. Other baseless theories and when it removed the video rity and have come toge- who say requiring people
“You don’t need masks. hoaxes have alleged that down from its site. ther to create social media to wear masks is a step to-
There is a cure,” Dr. Stella the virus isn’t real or that it’s Judy Mikovits, the discredi- pages where many false ward authoritarianism.
Immanuel promised in a a bioweapon created by ted doctor behind “Plan- claims about mask safety “Unless you make a stand,
video that promoted hy- the U.S. or its adversaries. demic,” had been set to are shared. Facebook has you will be wearing a mask
droxychloroquine. “You One hoax from the out- appear on the show “Ame- removed some of the pa- for the rest of your life,”
don’t need people to be break’s early months clai- rica This Week” on the Sin- ges — such as the group tweeted Simon Dolan, a
locked down.” med new 5G towers were clair Broadcast Group. But Unmasking America!, British businessman who has
The truth: Federal regula- spreading the virus through the company, which ope- which had nearly 10,000 sued the government over
tors last month revoked microwaves. Another po- rates TV stations in 81 U.S. members — but others re- its COVID-19 restrictions.
their authorization of the pular story held that Micro- markets, canned the seg- main. A video of a woman Trump’s reluctant, ambi-
drug as an emergency tre- soft founder Bill Gates plans ment, saying it was “not attacking a mask display at valent and late embrace
atment amid growing evi- to use COVID-19 vaccines appropriate” to air. an Arizona Target received of masks hasn’t convinced
dence it doesn’t work and to implant microchips in This week, U.S. government almost 84,000 likes on Twit- some of his strongest sup-
can have deadly side ef- all 7 billion humans on the officials speaking of con- ter. Early in the pandemic, porters, who have con-
fects. Even if it were effec- planet. dition of anonymity cited medical authorities them- cocted ever more elabo-
tive, it wouldn’t negate the Then there are the political what they said was a clear selves were the source of rate theories to explain his
need for masks and other theories — that doctors, link between Russian intel- much confusion regarding change of heart. Some say
measures to contain the journalists and federal of- ligence and websites with masks. In February, officials he was actually speaking
outbreak. ficials are conspiring to lie stories designed to spread like the U.S. surgeon gene- in code and doesn’t really
None of that stopped about the threat of the virus disinformation on the coro- ral urged Americans not to support masks.
Trump, who has repeatedly to hurt Trump politically. navirus in the West. Russian stockpile masks because O Tuathail witnessed just
praised the drug, from ret- Social media has amplified officials rejected the accu- they were needed by me- how unshakable CO-
weeting the video. Twitter the claims and helped be- sations. dical personnel and might VID-19 misinformation can
and Facebook began re- lievers find each other. The Of all the bizarre and my- not be effective in every- be when, after broadcas-
moving the video on Mon- flood of misinformation has riad claims about the virus, day situations. ting his video, he received
day for violating policies on posed a challenge for Fa- those regarding masks are Public health officials emails from people who
COVID-19 misinformation, cebook, Twitter and other proving to be among the changed their tune when said he cheated, or didn’t
but it had already been platforms, which have most stubborn. it became apparent that wear the mask long enou-
seen more than 20 million found themselves accu- New York City resident Car- the virus could spread gh to feel the negative ef-
times.Many of the claims sed of censorship for taking los Lopez said he wears a among people showing no fects.
in Immanuel’s video are down virus misinformation. mask when required to do symptoms. That’s not surprising, ac-
widely disputed by medi- A professionally made so but doesn’t believe it is Yet Trump remained reluct- cording to University of
cal experts. She has made 26-minute video that al- necessary. ant to use a mask, mocked Central Florida psychology
even more bizarre pro- leges the government’s “They’re politicizing it as a his rival Joe Biden for wea- professor Chrysalis Wright,
nouncements in the past, top infectious-disease ex- tool,” he said. “I think it’s ring one and suggested who studies misinformation.
saying that cysts, fibroids pert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, more to try to get Trump to people might be covering She said conspiracy the-
and some other conditions manufactured the virus lose. It’s more a scare tac- their faces just to hurt him ory believers often engage
can be caused by having and shipped it to China tic.” politically. He did an abrupt in mental gymnastics to
sex with demons, that Mc- was watched more than He is in the minority. A re- about-face this month, clai- make their beliefs conform
Donald’s and Pokemon 8 million times before the cent AP/NORC poll found ming that he had always with reality.
promote witchcraft, that platforms took action. The that 3 in 4 Americans — De- supported masks — then la- “People only want to hear
alien DNA is used in medi- video, titled “Plandemic,” mocrats and Republicans ter retweeted Immanuel’s what they already think
cal treatments, and that also warned that masks alike — support a national video against masks. they know,” she said.q