Saving Science
How stamping out fake news and conspiracy theories will allow us to move past the pandemic, and towards a healthy future
If you feel like there are no escaping covid-19 conspiracies, you’re right. Since the pandemic began theories have been circling online suggesting everything from a fake virus to a man-made one, to vaccines hiding microchips. According to google trends, interest in these ideas has peaked during each national lockdown and it’s grim to think we may be about to see this trend repeat itself yet again, at a time when disinformation can have deadly consequences.
On Wednesday America witnessed a domestic act of terrorism in which 4 people died. Committed by Trump’s loyal supporters, among them white supremacists and QAnon supporters, they stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to halt democracy. Their motive? A ‘stolen’ and undemocratic election rigged to take down Trump (despite there being no evidence to support this) with no man putting fuel on the fire other than Donald Trump himself. Over twitter he told the mob “we love you. You’re very special”.
While QAnon may originate in America, their ideologies have traveled the globe, and in the UK they’ve gained some serious popularity. They’ve excelled at spreading misguided beliefs that covid-19 isn’t real, and tried to dispel any concerns about hospitals being unable to cope with a surge of seriously ill patients. If you’ve seen any anti-lockdown and anti-mask protests in your city, they’re probably the guys responsible.
Recently they asked their supporters to “#FilmYourHospital”, telling them to film and protest inside hospitals in an attempt to ‘prove’ that hospital beds are empty. Meanwhile last Friday, back in reality, Sadiq Khan declared a “covid emergency” in London saying the virus is now “out of control”. Official reports show a third of London hospitals are at capacity, with a record number of patients being admitted since the pandemic began.
Alongside harassing hospitals, QAnon has another target — vaccines, and in particular, the Pfizer and AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccines currently being rolled out across the UK. A study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found one in six Britons were unlikely to get vaccinated against coronavirus, and those who used social media as their primary source of news about the pandemic were less likely to agree to be vaccinated.
To reach a time where transmission of covid-19 essentially stops and we reach that all-important herd immunity, allowing life to finally get life back to normal, the World Health Organisation estimates between 65 to 70% of any given population must get vaccinated. With ambitious plans to deliver vaccines to a third of the population by the end of this year, it’s clear the end of social distancing and the return to normal life is a long way off yet. To get there, cooperation — and most importantly of all, trust — between the government, the researchers, and the public is essential.
It seems clear that much like America, the threats faced by QAnon and disinformation at large in the UK are deadly. With the entire country being asked to stay at home yet again, the audience for these online disinformation campaigns has grown overnight at a time when the true reality of the situation has never been worse. More than 80,000 coronavirus deaths have been reported, the UK currently has the worst infection rate per capita in the world and despite lockdown, cases are continuing to rise at a time.
Fighting Qanon and other conspiracy theories alike needs decisive and direct action. Two days ago Boris Johnson told people who don’t believe in covid-19 to “grow up”, following comments from the head of NHS England condemning the fakes news being spread by conspiracy theorists as “lies”. While it’s better than the US leaders’ response, it’s not exactly the most inspiring.
Clearly, the solution to the misinformation crisis or Infodemic, as the World Health Organisation has nicknamed it, can’t solely lie with the government. The social media platforms that created such perfect breeding grounds for a fake news surge, such as Facebook and Instagram, must act to stop the spread of dangerous lies. Following Trump’s incitement of a riot at the US Capitol, he was promptly banned from Twitter for his role in the violence. It’s difficult to understand why they didn’t choose to act sooner when it all could have been prevented.
While Britain may not be about to witness our own attempted coup, the stakes here are still alarmingly high. Today Prof Chris Whitty said we’re in “the most dangerous time” of the pandemic so far, stressing the importance of social distancing. With the worst yet to come and hospitals already struggling to cope, it makes for a bleak outlook. With everyday misinformation is allowed to breed online, a growing number of people will ignore these warnings. By taking down conspiracies online and those who spread them, we can tip the fight against coronavirus in our favour. And that’s worth fighting for.
