NEW DELHI – In the WhatsApp video, the man says he has seen it working on his own: a few drops of lemon juice in the nose will cure COVID-19.
“If you practice what I am going to say with confidence, you will be free from corona in five seconds,” says the man wearing traditional religious clothes. “This one lemon will protect you from the virus like a vaccine.”
False treatment. Horror stories of side effects of the vaccine. Baseless claims that Muslims Spread virus. Filled with government agony, frustration and mistrust, rumors and rumors are exacerbating the country’s humanitarian crisis in India and on social media.
“The widespread panic has led to a heap of misinformation,” said Rahul Namburi, co-founder of Fact Crescendo, an independent fact-checking organization in India.
While treatments such as lemon juice may seem innocuous, such claims can have fatal consequences if they prompt people to skip vaccination or ignore other guidelines.
In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Declared That India “saved humanity from a major disaster by effectively stopping Corona.” Life resumed, and so did attendance Cricket match, Religious shrine And Political rallies For Modi’s Hindu Nationalist Party.
Four months later, there have been cases and deaths, of the country Vaccine rollout Has faltered and Public anger and mistrust have increased.
“All the publicity, misinformation and conspiracy theories I’ve seen in the last few weeks are very political,” said political scientist Sumitra Badrinathan of the University of Pennsylvania, who studied misinformation in India. “Some people are using it to criticize the government, while others are using it to support it.”
Distrust of Western vaccines and health care is also misinforming claims about counterfeit treatments as well as traditional treatments.
Satyanarayan Prasad watched the video about lemon juice and believed in it. The 51-year-old resident of the state of Uttar Pradesh distrusts modern medical practice and has a theory as to why his country’s health experts are urging vaccines.
Prasad said, “If the government approved lemon drops as a remedy, the money they spent on vaccines would be wasted.”
A prominent businessman and former politician, Vijay Sankeshwar reiterated the claim about lemon juice, saying that two drops in the nose would increase oxygen levels in the body.
While vitamin C is essential for human health and immunity, there is no evidence That consuming lemon will help fight the corona virus.
This claim is also spreading in the Indian diaspora.
“What they have is that if you drink lemonade every day, you’re not going to be affected by the virus,” said Emma Sachdev, a Clinton, New Jersey, resident whose extended family lives in India.
Sachdev said that many relatives have been infected, yet are breaking the rules of social discrimination, thinking that they will be safe from going to the temple.
India has also experienced similar misinformation about the side effects of vaccines and vaccines seen around the world.
Last month, popular Tamil actor Vivek died two days after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. The hospital in which he died said that Vivek had suffered from heart disease, but his death has been seized by vaccine opponents as evidence that the government is hiding the side effects.
Most of the misinformation is broadcast on WhatsApp, which has more than 400 million users in India. Unlike more open sites like Facebook or Twitter, WhatsApp – which is owned by Facebook – is an encrypted platform that allows users to exchange messages privately.
“Bad online information came from a neighbor who is not trying to harm,” said researcher Badrinathan of the University of Pennsylvania. “New internet users will not even realize that the information is false. The whole concept of misinformation is new to him. “
Rumors circulating online had fatalities in 2018, when At least 20 people died By the mob instigated by the post about the alleged gang of kidnappers.
WhatsApp said in a statement that it works hard to limit misleading or dangerous content by working with public health bodies such as the World Health Organization and fact-checking organizations. The platform has also added security measures prohibiting the dissemination of series messages and directing users to accurate online information.
The service is making it easier for users in India and other countries to use its service to get information about vaccination.
“False claims can discourage people from getting vaccinated, getting help from a doctor or taking the virus seriously,” said Namburi of Fact Crescendo. “The stakes have never been so high.”
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