23 young people from the UK, Ireland and Romania have formed a new group to root out misinformation and fake news about COVID-19 in a bid to stop it spreading online and doing harm. The Youth Against Misinformation group will help track and record evidence of misinformation to help analyse emerging trends and create a real-time picture of how fake news about COVID-19 is spreading online, as well as report these posts to social media platforms to have them removed.
Trained and supported by youth organisation Restless Development and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the group of volunteers will also educate social media users who are inadvertently sharing misinformation by pointing them towards trusted sources such as the World Health Organisation.
Alana*, UK, a member of Youth Against Misinformation, said:
“I experienced the impact of misinformation, fuelled by racism and xenophobia, first hand during the ebola outbreak in 2016. Being black and part African, people accused me of having the virus and spreading it around. I jumped at the chance to take a stand against people spreading misinformation. We want more young people to join our efforts, so if you want to help stop the spread of dangerous misinformation online, then get in touch.”
*Name has been changed to protect the volunteer’s identity
Misinformation is spreading fast, such as:
X Fake “cures” or “preventative treatments” for Covid-19 are being promoted and sold online, including “drinkable” silver, which can turn people’s skin irreversibly blue.
X Conspiracy theories about the origins of the virus, that can lead people to ignore official advice on social distancing and washing hands, and have also motivated attacks on 5G mobile network masts.
X Racial/religious hatred – that certain ethnic groups are deliberately spreading the virus, or are responsible for the creation of the virus.
In the short space of time that volunteers have been active, hundreds of pieces of misinformation have already been found, recorded and reported. 63 inadvertent spreaders of misinformation have been tweeted at by volunteers, 13 of whom replied or deleted their tweet.
Sara*, UK, a member of the Youth Against Misinformation, said:
“My dad is still working as a bus driver at Transport for London and I have elderly grandparents who have underlying health issues, so my family and I understand first-hand the distress and anxiety that misinformation can cause. I want to be part of this project as it will bring more peace and truth to worrying families and friends during this stressful and intense time.”
*Name has been changed to protect the volunteer’s identity
Rosanne Palmer-White, UK Director at Restless Development, said:
“COVID-19 misinformation is spreading fast and doing harm. Young people are typically digital natives and perfect leaders in the fight against misinformation. Worldwide there are countless young people doing incredible work to respond to COVID-19. Youth Against Misinformation is the latest show of youth power and will help close the digital distance between the misinformation spreaders and the health authorities, and share correct information to save lives.”
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the CCDH, said:
“This initiative will capture new and trending misinformation on social media and messaging apps. This data could be vital in helping the volunteers, as well as governments and civil society, deal with threats to public safety and counter the instrumentalisation of COVID by hostile forces, whether they be state actors or domestic hate groups, determined to split our societies.”
The initiative is currently working with volunteers in the UK, but their reach across social media is global. The project will be expanded to work with volunteers in different countries around the world.
Youth Against Misinformation. Stop the Spread Online.
This initiative is being coordinated and supported by Restless Development and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. It has two aims: to monitor and root out dangerous COVID-19 misinformation online; and build the skill-set and agency of young people to understand how misinformation is spread online, identify fake news and develop strategies to tackle it. Volunteers receive comprehensive training on how to identify, report and respond to harmful misinformation online, following five principles of CCDH’s Don’t Spread the Virus campaign.
This is another burgeoning pandemic: The GLOBAL agenda to pollute our youth, both in media and education, and through the new socialization, not to mention entertainment. Here they are being taught that spying and ratting is noble and higher-minded. And in many circles, they are being lauded as heroic whistle-blowers. There is such an enormous difference ‘tween being a whistle-blower and being a rat. One serves truth, the other oppression.
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Can you say “Hasbarat”?! Wherever possible these people need to fully exposed with full details posted online for all to see like the 900 snitches recently. Their fates can then be decided for them in the usual way free individuals deal with TRAITORS!
So what is their relationship to Greta Thunberg and Xtinction Event? And Soros, and Gates, and Barbara Lerner Specter, etc. etc. etc.