User:CaroleHenson/Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic - restructure
False information about the COVID-19 outbreak / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in misinformation and conspiracy theories about the scale of the pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease.[1][2][3] False information, including intentional disinformation, has been spread through social media,[2][4] text messaging,[5] and mass media,[6] including the tabloid media,[7] conservative media,[8][9] and state media of countries such as China,[10][11] Russia,[12][13] Iran,[14] and Turkmenistan.[2][15] It has also been spread by state-backed covert operations to generate panic and sow distrust in other countries.[16][17][18] In some countries, such as India,[19] Bangladesh,[20] and Ethiopia,[21] journalists have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news about the pandemic.[22]
Misinformation has been propagated by celebrities, politicians[23][24] (including heads of state in countries such as the United States,[25][26] Iran,[27] and Brazil[28]), and other prominent public figures.[29] Commercial scams have claimed to offer at-home tests, supposed preventives, and "miracle" cures.[30][31] Several religious groups have claimed their faith will protect them from the virus.[32][33][34] Some people have claimed the virus is a bio-weapon accidentally or purposefully leaked from a laboratory,[35][36] a population control scheme, the result of a spy operation,[3][4][37] or the side effect of improvements, called 5G, to cell telephone networks.[38]
The World Health Organization has declared an "infodemic" of incorrect information about the virus, which poses risks to global health.[2]