in the midst of the corona virus
pandemic passing on information can feel
like one way we can support our families
and friends here at the BBC we are
working very hard to make sure that
everything we broadcast and publish is
accurate and up-to-date but there is a
whole load of information out there that
isn't and misinformation can spread fast
if a message is sent to a whatsapp group
of 20 then each of them shares it with
20 other people and this happens five
times it can reach more than three
million people very quickly untruths can
take many forms one of the most common
we're seeing is copied and pasted
messages being passed around on whatsapp
or in facebook groups containing bad
advice or fake cures and because these
are shared by a friend or trusted source
it's not obvious who wrote these
messages in the first place often
they're attributed to a vague source
like a friend's friend who's a doctor
soldier or works with the government for
example a voice note has been spreading
on whatsapp in it a womanist translating
advice from a colleague who has a friend
working at a hospital on the Spanish
island of Gran Canaria some of the tips
are helpful such as washing surfaces
thoroughly but the voice memo includes
misleading advice as well the speaker
suggests sunlight neutralizes the virus
and that coronavirus can be killed by
taking a sip of warm water every 20
minutes there is no scientific basis for
either of these claims
if you're not sure the whole post is
true it might do more harm than good to
share it and if the source isn't easily
identifiable or the story hasn't been
reported elsewhere then it really is
worth being skeptical about it pictures
taken out of context can also be really
misleading a video from Italy was posted
on Twitter showing military vehicles on
the streets there were rumors they were
responding to coronavirus riots in fact
they were returning from routine
exercises that had nothing to do with
the outbreak some of us may share
information with our friends as a joke
or to lighten their mood but even if
they don't take it seriously
others might for example a claim that
lions were released in Russia to patrol
the streets was taken seriously by some
it was not true we all want to share
news that we think will help others but
before you do follow these steps has the
story been reported anywhere else is it
from a reliable source has the photo or
image been taken out of context if
you're not sure then maybe it's fake and
you can stop that information from doing
harm by not sharing it any further
if you want to check medical advice go
on the World Health Organization website
and if you feel that a story isn't real
you can always look to a reliable source
like the BBC