With the Covid-19 outbreak upon us, everyone’s on the edge all the time as this pandemic isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. During these trying times, some people have foolishly taken to spreading fake news over the Internet over what they think could cure the virus and how one could avoid it. This just creates unnecessary panic as people need to weed out the fake information being spread. This is what happened in France and the situation became so bad that the government themselves had to clarify the misinformation.
France has 2,281 confirmed cases and 48 reported deaths so far. Banking on this panic, some irresponsible people made a fake picture of a news report saying that COCAINE, yes the extremely dangerous drug, could cure coronavirus.
— Bizzle Osikoya (@bizzleosikoya) February 3, 2020
Whether or not it was made as a joke, the post got a lot of attention especially on Twitter where it got almost 3K retweets! Obviously, some people panicked because of how “official” the news looked like and they demanded answers from the government if this information was true. New York Post reported that this situation led to the France Health Ministry tweeting that cocaine DOES NOT provide protection against the coronavirus.
#Coronavirus | Désinfox
❌ Non, La cocaïne NE protège PAS contre le #COVID19 .
✅ C’est une drogue addictive provoquant de graves effets indésirables et nocifs pour la santé des personnes.
? https://t.co/ajSGwecauL pic.twitter.com/4GZ01Qmg5X— Ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé (@MinSoliSante) March 8, 2020
“No, cocaine does NOT protect against Covid-19. It is an addictive drug causing serious adverse effects and is harmful to the health of people.”
The spreading of fake news has become an extremely serious problem indeed and what a time to do so! Before you were to share any news regarding the outbreak, make sure to check your sources and that the news has been confirmed.
We would like to reaffirm again that cocaine DOES NOT cure coronavirus. Please don’t attempt it as not only it’s illegal, it’s also extremely dangerous to your health!
Also read: MOH: Stop Sharing These 7 Fake News About Covid-19 That Have Been Going Viral
