Fake cures, risky rumours: virus misinformation hits home

HONG KONG: From being duped into taking poisonous “cures”, to watching businesses crumble and avoiding life-saving medication, people are suffering devastating real-world impacts of a deluge of online virus misinformation. As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 20,000 people causes markets to crash and sets scientists scrambling for a solution, rumours and false claims are fuelling confusion and deepening the economic misery.

The effects can be tragic — in Iran, one of the hardest-hit countries, more than 210 people died from drinking toxic alcohol after claims circulated online that it could treat or ward off COVID-19, the official Irna news agency reported. Dangerous fake cures debunked by AFP include consuming volcanic ash and fighting infection with UV lamps or chlorine disinfectants, which health authorities say can harm the body if used incorrectly. Another remedy that “kills the coronavirus”, according to misleading social media posts, is drinking silver particles in liquid, known as colloidal silver.

“I am making colloidal silver now. I have asthma and does it really work... worried/stressed over virus. Does this help if I take a teaspoon a day. New to this...” said a post by a user named Michelle in a public Facebook group, alongside a photo of a jar of water with a metal rod in it. The side effects of taking colloidal silver can include a bluish-grey skin discoloration and poor absorption of some medicines including antibiotics, according to the US National Institutes of Health. But this has not put some people off.

An Australian man who said he regularly buys the concoction told AFP it had “sold out in my town ... but before the virus, I could always get some”. Cocaine and bleach-like solutions are also among the risky fake cures touted online. “No, cocaine does NOT protect against #COVID-19,” the French government tweeted in response.

As panic buying leaves supermarket shelves empty around the world, some Indian traders and farmers have had the opposite problem — people shunning their products due to false information. Retailers in Delhi told AFP they had stocked up on Chinese-made goods such as toy guns, wigs and other colourful accessories ahead of Holi festival earlier this month.