I’m hesitant to even write about the coronavirus, given the news is changing hourly. As I start this column, the number of people infected with the coronavirus across the globe is 6,000. By the time you read it, that number may be radically different.
That said, I can’t not comment on the very story that’s gripping the city — not to mention the world. Anxiety’s in the air, particularly in Richmond, and not surprisingly. We have a huge demographic of people who fly back and forth between here and various regions of China, just like the first B.C. resident confirmed to have coronavirus.
We also have a large demographic from Hong Kong, who well remember the terror of SARS, which hit that city particularly hard in 2003, infecting thousands and killing 299.
And then there’s the rest of us who care about our health and can be easily spooked by news of a, as of yet, wildly uncontrollable and potentially deadly disease, coming to a hospital near you.
In other words, I get the concern.
But while I, like others, watch the tally of people infected rise, I’m actually more interested in the spread of that other equally contagious infection — fake news and information. It’s astonishing to see what people think they have the authority to talk about. Like the one who posted, with absolute certainty, that the B.C. individual who’s confirmed to have the virus lives in Burnaby. In fact, he lives within the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region, which doesn’t include Burnaby.
Of course, folks posting about things they know nothing about goes with the territory on social media. But now let’s throw in “self-media,” also referred to as “news aggregates.” These are so-called news sites that basically plagiarize other journalists’ work (including our own), top it with an insanely provocative headline and throw it up on WeChat, the Chinese social media platform. As a result, the Richmond News headline, “Richmond pushes for cannabis air emissions standards” turns into “Is Richmond going to be destroyed? It smells even worse than farts. More than 1,200,000 kilograms of weed shrouded the city, driving 100,000 Chinese Canadians crazy? What should we do to save (our) children?”
I’m not even kidding.( See related story)
While it’s hard not to laugh, it’s also hard not to cry. Information matters, and it matters even more in a time of crisis. What’s more, these sites embed their stories with ones from legitimate news sources to give their crazy headlines credibility.
Trying to contain these stories and hold these sites to account has been described as a game of whack-a-mole. And even if we did send a legal letter demanding they cease and desist, the damage is already done. They have their 100,000 clicks and are on to the next thing — leaving a confused, ill-informed and often hysterical public in its wake.
So while you’re washing your hands to ensure you don’t pick up or carry any nasty viruses swirling around out there, apply that same hygiene to your news consumption.
Re-posting rumours and hearsay makes you a carrier. Check your sources, sneeze into your sleeve and don’t infect the public discourse with contaminated information.
