WHO chief warns against trolls and conspiracy theories

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that "trolls and conspiracy theories" are undermining their response to the new coronavirus.

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that misinformation was "making the work of our heroic workers even harder".

More than 34,800 people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide, the vast majority in China.

There have been 723 deaths in China and one death abroad, in the Philippines.

Of the 34,598 people infected within China, Dr Tedros said almost 25,000 are in Hubei Province - the region where the outbreak was first reported, which has since become the epicentre of the virus.

"I would also like to speak briefly about the importance of facts, not fear," Dr Tedros said. "People must have access to accurate information to protect themselves and others."

He said misinformation around the new strain, 2019-nCoV, "causes confusion and spreads fear to the general public".

"At the WHO we're not just battling the virus, we're also battling the trolls and conspiracy theories that undermine our response," he added.

"As a Guardian [newspaper] headline says today, 'Misinformation on the coronavirus might be the most contagious thing about it'."

In that article, published by The Guardian's opinion section, epidemiologist Adam Kucharski argues that the best way to combat online falsehoods around the virus is to "treat them like a real-life virus".

A number of false theories have been spread globally about the virus in recent weeks.

Source: BBC

 

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