A Facebook page claims that the Federal Government has announced Monday 1st of June 2020 as resumption date for all schools in Nigeria.
There is no scheduled date/day for resumption yet. If there is, the expectation will be for the government to publish the information in more accessible media channels for citizens.
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In the face of the covid-19 outbreak in Nigeria, the Federal Government announced the closure of schools until the proper containment of the coronavirus in affected states. In the face of this, rumours regarding the reopening of schools never seem to end.
There’s been a lot of controversies surrounding school resumption dates, with different blogs publishing unverified dates ranging from May 1stNovember to the June 1st date by this Facebook user June 1st 2020.
Recently, there has been an increase in misinformation as to the approved dates for the resumption of schools. Amidst these, the most recent says the federal government’s resumption date is June 1st 2020.
Verification
Over two weeks ago, the Federal ministry of education advised Nigerians to shun news circulating in this regard. Through her spokesperson, Ben Goong, the department debunked every claim that schools were to re-open at specific dates.
This rebuttal published by PREMIUM TIMES on the 13th of April quoted the spokesperson of the ministry of education as saying; “On the issue of reopening of schools, the ministry has not directed the reopening of any school at any level”. We are urging parents and guardians not to be misled by fake news but to continue to abide by the government’s regulations to tackle the ravaging pandemic.
Decontamination of schools.
The Federal Government has in no way announced or declared a date for general resumption of schools. Moreover, several schools have gone virtual in their bid to make sure their students don’t miss out on the term’s syllabus during the lockdown.
Contrary to the reopening claim, the Federal government has announced plans to disinfect schools nationwide; this was, of course, premised on collaborating with the ministry of education to collate data on schools nationwide.
The Presidential task force confirmed this during a briefing already published by PREMIUM TIMES and other newspapers.
In essence, there is currently no specific date for schools to resume classes; parents’ best bet is to wait for further directives from the Federal government.
Conclusion
Educational establishments in the country, currently, do not have a scheduled date of resumption. The Federal Government, however, did announce plans for nation-wide decontamination of schools, without providing a date for schools to resume.
Myths are big and powerful feathers with which fake news and falsehood fly around societies. The purveyors of fake news seem to have realised this and are exploiting myths to perform their enterprise. Recall the difficulty we faced during the ebola challenge when several gullible persons carelessly consumed substances such as salt as a cure for the disease. There was, however, no scientific proof to establish the veracity of this claim. In truth, myths thrive during crisis and unrest, be it communal, social, religious or health-related. For instance, the coronavirus pandemic ravaging humanity and bringing the world to its knees appears to have become a fertile ground for myth-making that portends danger to society.
How does one rationalise the rate at which false and baseless news fly around, particularly within the social media space about the coronavirus? Since the outbreak, individuals and organisations have peddled false claims about treatment and cure for the virus, which scientists and medical experts have continued to refute.
Several media reports have recently credited some individuals with the ability to heal COVID-19 patients in a matter of days. Some of them went to the extent of recommending some concoctions for patients as medications. This trend prompted the World Health Organisation to publish what it called the “myth busters” as a way of protecting the vulnerable populace against misinformation. WHO stated, among other precautions, that adding pepper to soup or other meals does not prevent or cure COVID-19. It also said there is no evidence that house flies can transmit the virus. The global health agency said the disease could only spread through droplets from coughs, sneezes or saliva of infected persons.
WHO has equally warned that spraying and introducing bleach or disinfectants into the body WILL NOT protect one against COVID-19, but can instead be dangerous in that such substances can be poisonous if ingested and cause irritation and damage to the skin and eyes. What about drinking methanol, ethanol or bleach? WHO did not recommend drinking any of the substances, as doing so is extremely dangerous. According to the global health body, these items are poisons and swallowing them can lead to disability or even death. While they can be used to kill the virus on surfaces, they are not to be drunk because they are not friendly to human internal organs.
Perhaps, one of the hottest debates generated by COVID-19, especially in Nigeria, is on whether or not the 5G mobile networks spread the virus. This false claim, which has been debunked, is showing no signs of abating. Religion, which is the “opium of the people”, (a Karl Marx’s celebrated dictum), conferred some relevance on the subject matter as some famous, respected religious leaders used platforms available to them to preach against the 5G mobile networks, which they described as one of the subtle ways the anti-Christ is manifesting. Their adherents have been circulating the myth. But, WHO has clearly said that viruses cannot travel on radio waves or mobile networks. In contrast, we note how active cases of COVID-19 exist in several countries which do not even have 5G mobile networks.
One of the most mythical stories recently peddled via social media is the viral message of two persons (a driver and conductor) who were arrested by the police in Lagos for turning human beings to goats. The story trended on twitter, blogs, Facebook and several other news platforms.
On March 29, 2020, a Twitter user from Ikeja, Nigeria, known as Molecule Boy posted on his twitter handle, @HeisJayfred, a picture with a caption “Passengers in Ejigbo turned to goats after using hand sanitiser”. In the photo, two persons (purportedly the driver and his conductor) were laying on the ground with many people surrounding them. The goats were also visible from the picture. The post attracted two thousand and seventeen retweets and three thousand, five hundred and fifty-seven likes. Several comments with mixed feelings equally followed it.
Further, we noted how hand sanitisers were the foundational ingredient of this story. During this period, sanitisers had become one of the most sought-after commodities since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sudden popularity of sanitisers and the rising cost of the product may explain the virality of sanitiser-related urban myths and readers’ susceptibility to its falsehood.
However, the fact that no credible medium published the story should ordinarily raise one’s antenna about its authenticity.
Furthermore, the Nigerian Police, through the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Elkana Bala, in a telephone interview with the writer, dismissed the report as a blatant lie, which only existed in the imagination of the merchants.
For the fact that publication of fake news and mysticism has become lucrative, it is difficult to end it, particularly in the world of social media, which now enables virtually anyone to churn out unverifiable claims in the name of news. In truth, fake news and mythical beliefs seem to spread faster than accurate reports. This revelation is a wake-up call to practising journalists to up their games and be above peddlers of misinformation.
In all honesty, we need to bridge the gap between the time actors churn out fake news, and the time fact-checkers dismiss it as untrue. The reason for this demand is to limit the havoc such fake news wreak before fact-checkers verify. Thus, this burden rests on the shoulders of professional fact-checkers, now needed more than ever to reduce with timely counters the adverse impacts of fake and mystical stories on society.
It is also time for thousands of other media professionals to embrace the reality that fake news and myths are one of the biggest threats to our calling. Indeed, the harvest of fact-checking is ripe, but the harvesters are not in good supply. Therefore, it will not be out of place if every journalist becomes a fact-checker. When this happens, journalism would have reached its higher reach as the watchdog of society.
Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network led the creation of the chatbot to make its database of more than 4,000 COVID-19 hoaxes easy and accessible to people around the world.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 4, 2020) — The Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) today launches a chatbot on WhatsApp to connect its millions of users with the translated work of more than 80 fact-checking organisations worldwide. By using the IFCN’s chatbot on WhatsApp, citizens can quickly check whether professional fact-checker have rated content about COVID-19 as false.
Since January, fact-checkers from 74 countries have identified more than 4,000 hoaxes related to the novel coronavirus. All of this information exists in the CoronaVirusFacts database, the backbone of the new WhatsApp chatbot and the most extensive collaboration of fact-checkers ever. The database is updated daily by the IFCN so chatbot users can access its most relevant and recent content on their smartphones.
The IFCN’s chatbot also provides users with a global directory of fact-checking organizations. The system is capable of identifying the user’s country via the mobile country code and then sharing the nearest fact-checking organizations. Anyone can submit information for review directly to local fact-checkers or visit their website to learn more about misinformation circulating in the region.
“Hundreds of millions of users rely on WhatsApp to stay in touch with their friends and families every day,” said IFCN director Baybars Orsek. “Since bad actors use every single platform to disseminate falsehoods, to mislead others during such troubling times, fact-checkers’ work is more important than ever.”
IFCN’s chatbot is free to use. Users can save +1 (727) 2912606 as a contact number and text the word “hi” to launch the chatbot. They can also click poy.nu/ifcnbot to get started.
The chatbot has a simple, short and numerical menu. Users will only need to text numbers to navigate it.
Initially, the IFCN’s chatbot will be available only in English, but other languages, including Hindi and Spanish, and additional functionalities will follow soon.
“WhatsApp recently provided a grant to Poynter’s IFCN to support the valuable work of its verified signatories around the world in combating COVID-19 misinformation,” said Ben Supple, public policy manager and global election lead at WhatsApp. “We are very pleased to now be able to support IFCN’s essential fact-checking work with the launch of this important service for WhatsApp users.”
The IFCN chatbot was built on the WhatsApp Business API using Turn.io technology, the impact tool for WhatsApp.
Co-founder of Turn.io Gustav Praekelt said:
“Providing this service in collaboration with WhatsApp and IFCN provides an invaluable service to countries, communities and citizens in real-time and at scale — empowering them to not only fact-check or question information but to play a role in debunking false information.”
This article was republished per Dubawa’s membership with the IFCN coronavirus alliance, with the original available here.
A viral video identifies banknotes as the reason for the increase in coronavirus cases in the country.
While we acknowledge the concerns of the claim-sources and appreciate their efforts to encourage the hand-washing habit, stating that banknotes are the reasons for the spread of the coronavirus is not factual as there is no scientific evidence or credible reportage to support the claim.
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A viral video circulating on WhatsApp, 29th of April, suggests that banknotes are the reasons behind the spread of the novel coronavirus in Nigeria. The speaker pointed out that despite the measures taken to tame the pandemic, the number of confirmed cases does not cease to rise. He, therefore, relates the rise in infections to Naira notes, from where the virus spreads to handlers of the paper money.
Similarly, on 30th of April, a message circulating on WhatsApp informs readers about how naira notes put them at risk of contracting the new coronavirus despite obeying the lockdown directives. The Broadcast Message – BC – draws attention to the fact that money travels a lot and establishes the probability of possible contamination as it moves from one hand to another across different locations. Hence, it encourages readers to wash their hands after every contact with a currency.
The President of Nigeria has placed the nation on lockdown for over a month. Although there has been social media and physicalrebellion against the move, many Nigerians are still obeying the necessary confinement put in place to prevent a rapid spread of COVID-19. As Nigerians keep safe indoors, should they worry about the naira notes in their possessions?
Banks Notes and the Novel Coronavirus
Speculations abound that physical transactions contribute to the spread of the new coronavirus, which has become a threat to the young and old as it travels around the globe.
There have been different thoughts about how the virus spreads, one of which is the one that says physical currencies aid its transmission. Consequently, various institutions have suggested solutions. Additionally, countries like China and Korea reportedly sterilised cash to mitigate the spread.
Verification
While studies have shown that banknotes may transmit disease, there’s no conclusive scientific study that suggests that COVID-19 may be spread through contaminated currency notes.
Additionally, many have raised the possibilities of transmitting COVID-19 through physical currencies and advised the use of contactless technologies for payments. The World Health Organization has however stated that:
“it has not issued any warnings or statements about the use of cash. Instead, it reiterated that you should wash your hands, including after handling money, especially if you’re eating or touching food”
Recall that coronaviruses remain viable on surfaces for hours, even days, depending on the type of surface and that merely touching an infected surface does not guarantee infection. The contaminated hands have to come in contact with the eyes, nose or mouth before one can be infected. Hence, the rationale to always wash and disinfect the hands, and to always try as much as possible not to touch those parts of the body.
Conclusion
While we acknowledge the concerns of the claim-sources and appreciate their efforts to encourage the hand-washing habit, stating that banknotes are the reasons for the spread of the coronavirus is not factual as there is no scientific evidence or credible reportage to support the claim.
Moreover, experts have not established how long the new coronavirus can survive on banknotes, nor informed of its transfer potential. Therefore, merely touching currency notes does not guarantee transmission, especially if one maintains proper hygiene after handling–thorough, hand-washing, and refraining from touching the face.
In this article, we analysed posts that seemed to contain pieces of misinformation in circulation using CrowdTangle, Google Factcheck Explorer Tool, Facebook Fact-checking Tool and Tweetdeck, published between January and the end of April 2020 in Nigeria. Disclaimer: This article does not claim to have reviewed all viral contents within the timeframe, owing to limited time and resources.
Could understanding Covid-19 trends in Nigeria help you stay safe?
In Nigeria, mis- and dis-information preceded the virus. In January, there was no recorded case in the country; however, global news had slowly started to create a sense of impending doom in the minds of Nigerians. Over 3,157 posts on Facebook pages contained the words coronavirus, covid-19 or “colomavilus.” Twitter also recorded a similar feat in the last five days of January alone. Most of these posts centred on awareness of the pandemic (then considered an epidemic) or partisan views about the nature of the virus. Platform users with strong religious affiliations expressed sharp disdain for China who they believed “brought the plague” upon themselves to deflect attention for allegedly killing Muslims or banning the niqab.
Fake cures were not yet widespread; but by February, when the NCDC confirmed the first case, misinformation took on a life of its own, attacking the cells of the online society- just as the virus itself. Unsurprisingly, the WHO labelled the spread of fake news on the outbreak an “infodemic” which would only become worse in the following months. Unverified information about the origin, properties and transmission of the virus to death-causing preventive measures and bizarre conspiracies became prevalent.
To better understand the evolving phenomenon, fact-checkers around the world sought to categorise it based on the varied nature of the content, actors (fake news purveyors) create and share; the motivations of those who create this content; and the ways the said actors disseminate such material. After all, the saying goes, ”a problem understood is half solved.”
As authorities tried to make sense of the novel coronavirus, the volume and diversity of misinformation grew from 3,157 posts containing the keywords on Facebook pages in January to 14,845 Facebook-posts in February; 114,066 posts in March; and 153,270 posts in April. There are no total numbers for Twitter, but it is highly probable that there has been an increase on that platform as well. While the total number of posts cannot be considered false, a large number of them turned out to be unverified at the time of publication. However, based on our analysis of the Nigerian situation, two distinct types of misleading content are emerging.
Fake news about the nature of the virus: Its origins, properties and transmission
Most of the viral claims, in reality, are seldom entirely wrong; there’s usually a foundation of truth from which all sorts of stories emerge. More so, the absence of real information at the outset of the outbreak led many people to fill the information gap with their theories and conspiracies.
For angry Nigerians, Chinese people who eat just about anything created this virus. And, the fact that the Chinese people were acting as racists towards Nigerians made matters worse. Viral videos emerged showing Chinese nationals “biting the heads off living frogs and eating the entrails of the frogs at China’s ‘wet market’ where coronavirus reportedly originated from,” according to an excerpt from a news headline. There’s no evidence to prove that this is a recent video or that the virus came from a frog as inferred in the post. Another article claims that a Chinese man was spotted eating a live bat and mouse. The accompanying video showed “a woman” eating a “cooked creature” that seemed to be a bat and another man eating a live rodent.
While anger may be a justifiable emotion in this situation, false information about the origin of the virus will not help scientists identify the exact source and develop vaccines that can prevent future deaths.
Other conspiracy theorists shared claims that the virus was either created by Bill Gates as part of his depopulation agenda (read more in this article) or by the Chinese government in a selfish bid to overthrow the United States. Or by the American government through the CIA as part of an economical hybrid war against China.
One of the most intriguing was the speculation that the nature of the virus and the composition of the African blood (skin) make Africans resistant to the virus. Actors premised their claims on a Cameroonian student who survived infection from the virus because of his blood. While such claims took Africa a while to pay adequate attention to the evolving global health crisis. Under the spell of this false claim, it has gained recent cases of infections from the virus and resultant deaths in Nigeria to disprove this claim.
Closely linked to the above is false or misleading information about where the virus spreads and who spreads it. Again, people started by claiming that the virus couldn’t survive in hot weather, despite WHO’s decision to devote an entire webpage to debunk such myths. And a more malicious claim surfaced about a taxi driver threatening to spread the disease. The story was widely circulated on all platforms, disregarding the man’s safety.
Misleading content about treatment: Cures and preventive measures
Health care systems in the world are battling with the burden the pandemic has brought and are trying desperately to manage the crisis. So also are medical professionals, especially lab scientists who have devoted most of their lives to analysing a wide variety of specimens that identify and treat diseases. If after all the deaths, they cannot confirm a cure, why do we believe that particular food will do the job?
One would assume that Nigerians would have learned from the Ebola crisis; it seems not. With heightened fear and confusion, wrong information about cures and preventive measures have become the most common. Sadly, these can have real and immediate consequences.
Most of the garlic and salt-related claims combine both correct and false information. Garlic, the power-cure for the season, can lead to death by overdose, that is if we follow the prescription of the unidentified “Whatsapp doctor”. An immune-boosting food should not be likened to a cure or marketed as a drug that prevents the virus, whether mistakenly or for commercial purposes or social media popularity. For instance, this account lists several foods that can purportedly help you avert coronavirus; this was inaccurate.
While there is, some truth to the role of foods in building immunity, the consumption rests on the state of the individual, say, scientists. If you’re healthy, then taking supposed immune boosters may prove counterproductive. Moreover, no matter how good a particular food is, it shouldn’t be taken excessively as most of the claims suggest. Worse still, these messages could make people careless and flout other health recommendations such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle, sanitising and practising social distancing.
Similarly, on April 4th, a Nigerian newspaper reported how a Nigerian based in Ireland, John Obabola, who just tested negative for coronavirus, recovered. He purportedly used paracetamol, lemon, ginger and garlic to cure the disease. In the article, however, Obabola said he only survived the virus because he went in for treatment early enough and did not have underlying health issues.
Multiple videos viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook also claimed that onions could prevent and even cure an infection of the novel coronavirus. The same video has been shared here, here and here. According to AFP, as of March 21, 2020, WHO had 48 candidate vaccines in the preclinical evaluation and two in the clinical assessment as a cure for COVID-19. None of the 50 candidates is onion, garlic or lemon.
And then the claims about citrus fruits: from boiling the peels to the WhatsApp message that affirms that coronavirus has pH range 5.5 to 8.5, with which people can counteract infections from the virus by just consuming fruits to neutralise the pH activity. Or hot baths, hot hand dryers and any kind of heat, allegedly will suffice; not to mention, the allegation that constant sex kills coronavirus! Elsewhere, actors are peddling information that US scientists and other Nigerian scientists have created coronavirus vaccines.
What is interesting about the range or intensity of covid-19 misinformation is that existing false narratives were rarely ever wholly fabricated. Most often, correct information was spun, twisted, recontextualised, or reworked, making it more difficult to question and more natural to appeal to our sentiments. With the Federal Government’s partial lifting of the lockdown, such wrong narratives should not be promoted so that people do not get comfortable with fake cures; or disregard safety requirements and end up infecting and killing others.
Coronavirus Q & A
Why is coronavirus called covid19?
First of all, coronaviruses are not new. Coronavirus disease is the official term for members of a group of viruses known to cause respiratory infections in humans, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, COVID-19 is new, and the more scientific name is “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” as named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), the body responsible for classifying viruses. The term COVID-19 is an abbreviation; ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease and 19 for the year it occurred. So you can say “2019 novel coronavirus” or “COVID-19” if you like.
Fun fact: Coronaviruses are composed of genetic material surrounded by a round envelope that has protein spikes on the outside that resemble the spikes on a crown, the metal headgear worn by many monarchs across the world. “Crown” in Latin is “corona,” hence the name coronavirus.
When was coronavirus discovered?
Coronavirus was first discovered as an acute respiratory infection of domesticated chickens in the 1930s. Human coronaviruses were later discovered in the 1960s. Since 2003, at least 5 new human coronaviruses have been identified, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS), which also originated in China and caused significant morbidity and mortality. The most recent coronavirus (COVID-19) is traced to alleged patient zero who became ill on December 1st 2019, although more evidence traces its existence back to as early as November 2019.
Has Madagascar found a cure?
Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has recommended an organic medicine to cure COVID-19 patients in his country. ”All trials and tests have been conducted, and its effectiveness has been provided in reducing and eliminating symptoms from COVID-19 patients in Madagascar,” said the president. But the World Health Organization (WHO) in a statement has warned against any self-medication; also stating that no current medicine exists as a cure for COVID-19.
The presumed cure is a form of herbal tea called Covid Organics (CVO). Madagascar has 128 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far, with no deaths, and 82 recoveries. To determine if this is really a cure, we will need to observe the direct effects on the patients over time and after several post-treatment tests.
Will Coronavirus affect the stock market?
Most definitely. The more poignant question is how adverse the effect is or will be on the stock market. The stock market has taken significant hits as fears grow over how the coronavirus might wreak long-term economic havoc. In addition to a volatile stock market, global GDP growth has begun to slow in response to the outbreak, and oil prices have significantly decreased because of an oil glut. As unpredictable as the situation is, even in the most optimistic scenario, it is likely to have a material short-term impact on GDP growth, according to economists.
There have been discussions on social media suggesting the death of the head of IPOB, Indigenous People Of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. While some believe the story, others reject the current news. However, there has not been any credible report that supports the claim, which raises suspicions on its integrity. Besides, the source of this claim has a record of spreading misinformation.
Another Case of Sensational Headline! The message in this headline differs from the body of the story. This buttresses why you should not trust headlines, always read the entire text. Since the discovery of clickbait as a marketing tactic, online news platforms use misleading headlines to attract readers. Always read through an article and be sure its body texts agree with the headline. Also, cross-check with other credible sources; this takes a short time, I assure you!
A post on LEGITFUND.COM claimed that Mr Abubakar was weeping at the loss of his son’s life.
Mohammed Atiku is not DEAD. He had an unusually long recovery period of about 40 days from treatment. He is now well and has been discharged after repeatedly testing negative.
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Since he was admitted into Abuja Isolation Centre, in Gwagwalada district, on account of testing positive to the Coronavirus disease, a torrent of publications has been recorded suggesting that Mohammed, one of the sons of the former Vice President Atiku-Abubakar, had passed away. A post on LEGITFUND.COM claimed that Mr Abubakar was seen weeping at this loss.
Quoting Premium Times, the blog post said the former Vice President’s son continued to test positive for the virus four weeks after post-status confirmation.
Furthermore, the post went on to add that it has a video recorded from the incident and says that its reader should click on a particular sentence to watch the video.
Verification
Dubawa observed that the blogger plagiarised its first to the fourth paragraph from a story published by PREMIUM TIMES on Muhammad Abubakar’s health status. In this way, the writer sought to buy legitimacy for its claims and mislead the public to believe it had sourced its claim from an authoritative platform.
A paragraph from the article reads:
However, contrary to the blog post, the son of the former Vice President is not dead. A report by PREMIUM TIMES attests to this: “Mr Atiku-Abubakar confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that he was still at the isolation facility on Thursday afternoon, but declined further comments on his test results and treatment.”
Besides, it was inconceivable that the mourning of such a top political figure in the country would have been the exclusive report of a fringe blog. Moreover, a video made by the would-be deceased (Muhammad) obtained during this research attests to the fact that he as alive.
Although Mohammed Abubakar had not recovered when the report was done 20 days after authorities confirmed his Coronavirus status, the truth was that there was no report of his death either.
A total context of the report published on the 16th of April by PREMIUM TIMES, also indicated clearly that Mohammed Abubakar’s condition was unique and had confused the experts treating him, but they were sure he would recover.
Discrepancies in the post
First, the headline claimed “Covid19: Atiku Weeps As His Son Died Of Coronavirus – See Photos. Then at the end of the write up it also said: “Click here to watch the video”.
Neither picture nor video were available as promised. There were also no pictures attached.
As for the video, the link only redirected to the site’s homepage that carried several irrelevant advertisements.
Conclusion
Atiku Abubakar’s son, Muhammad Abubakar, is not dead. This posting is false and represents yet another illustration of misinformation designed to achieve the goals of hateful misinformation.
Currently, well over 100 countries have implemented either total or partial lockdown initiatives worldwide. And, reports show this approach to gradually decrease the severity of the pandemic, especially in the Western world. Afterall, Wuhan, otherwise referred to as ground zero lifted their movement restrictions last week. However, observers have not found the same success in the Global South, the final hit from the pandemic; thus reinforcing the urgency of distancing and restriction protocols.
Social Distancing Not Social Neglect
A “pressure cooker waiting to blow” was how one article quoting a divorce attorney explained the quarantine period. Indeed, several analyses and reports suggest an increase in divorce rates amid the pandemic. All these speak to one truth that while fighting the continued spread of the virus, battles are looming, such as the fight for one’s sanity and sense of normalcy – finding the new normal.
Consequently, instead of making do with monthly physical meetings, we have several zoom meetings, and tech companies are indeed leveraging on the lockdown to push forward their alternatives. For example, Redmont giant Microsoft saw a spike in “Teams“- their collaborative app- usage rise from 32 to 44 million active uses, since the pandemic. More so, Zoom has risen to number 21 on the Alexa global app ranking list, just before Netflix. So, with all of life becoming digital, what happens to productivity and zeal? Some companies, for the most part, seem to be trodding on just fine. But for others, reinventing the wheel seems to be imperative.
The internet: the double-edged sword
Worse still, all that additional time spent on the internet, how beneficial is it? In actuality, childhood, teenagehood and even adulthood on some level have a storied history when it comes to internet usage. The internet, a 20th-century invention like most inventions have come with its share of ills owing to misuse. And, because of the freedom and access it brings, it has sometimes brought out the not-so-good side in humanity, emphasising the need for control and even censorship with its usage, especially for kids. However, despite the best efforts of parental control applications and internet administrator modules, kids of today still find virtual private networks (VPN) and other countermeasures to access the content they desire.
Further, the lockdown and online schooling or postponement (as in some cases) might create a recipe for unforeseen disaster.
About such development, UNICEF has noted how:
“spending more time on virtual platforms can leave children vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and grooming, as predators look to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of face-to-face contact with friends and partners may lead to heightened risk-taking such as sending sexualised images, while increased and unstructured time online may expose children to potentially harmful and violent content as well as a greater risk of cyberbullying.”
Even more dire is the possible effect the lockdown may have on mental health. Whether it’s about feeling caged or having FOMO (fear of missing out), this pandemic is testing the mental limitations of everyone. And we mean everyone- from the healthcare professionals on the frontline to recovered patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and for those with pre-existing mental health problems. Taking the previous SARS pandemic, for example, statisticians observed a 30% spike in suicide rates in those over 65. Not to mention approximately half of all recovered patients remained anxious following the SARS pandemic.
What’s more, it is ironic how social distancing, touted as a critical enabler for flattening the curve, is also, in the opinion of several researchers, a significant trigger of mental health challenges. Moreover, replacing real-life interactions with online activities, while beneficial in ensuring contact, also has the added effect of depression for some, according to experts.
FOMO as we mentioned earlier, though seemingly trivial, is a severe issue. Blame it on influencers, celebrities or fitness enthusiasts; but everyone at every crevice of the internet seems to be doing the most with their time. Does this make you feel like you’re missing out and that you are not alone? In reality, most studies show a direct link between depression and prolonged use of social media.
On the other hand, some studies indicate the positive impact of social media concerning self-esteem. We surmise that it depends on the extent of usage and regulation.
The need for a change
The old saying that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ remains truthful, as many of us feel to reinvent ourselves during and possibly after this pandemic. Tech giant, Microsoft, seems to think so when it suggests that the proliferation of virtual meetings and workplace was going to change the way we do things in the long run. Dubawa echoes this sentiment. Not only that, but it is also not enough to only recognise the bane of internet misuse, it needs us to pay attention to potential effects. This rationale holds, especially for countries like Nigeria with low mental health awareness. If we are to push past this (and we will) many things have to give.
Having recognised some of the ills that befall this lockdown period, perhaps it’s time to look at possible solutions or mitigative initiatives.
A significant strategy we can all employ includes limiting the news content we read. A downside about the internet era is the extensive amount of information available. While it is necessary to stay informed, it is also worth noting the need to be literate and selective about our information diet as some of them border on fear-mongering. Such news only heightens anxiety levels, causes phobia and may trigger other unwholesome conditions for some people. It is, therefore, necessary for us to stick to valid, independent and reputable sources.
While social distancing and self-isolation are perhaps ambiguous words; they in no way imply abandoning our support systems. It is crucial to stay connected to family and friends. It is also worth noting that while psychological support may be physically inaccessible, psychologists, and their clients around the world are turning to online counselling sessions. Support groups, self-help guides, webinars and counselling sessions have been made available at the click of a button. The World Health Organisation also recommends applying healthy coping strategies during the pandemic. Planned activities like adequate rest, healthy nutrition accompanied by regular exercise will go a long way; also vital is maintaining relationships and contact with family and friends.
A blog site reported the demise of a trial volunteer of a potential COVID-19 treatment.
Elisa Granato, a volunteer in a trial of a potential COVID-19 jab at Oxford University, said she is very much alive. The UK government has also said the same, and the WHO has not come out to counter that Granato is alive.
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Last week, a blog post (archived here) widely shared online claimed that microbiologist Elisa Granato, one of the volunteers who took part in a coronavirus vaccine trial in Oxford, U.K., had died following complications after receiving the vaccine.
Opera News, a Nigerian pop platform financed by Chinese media entrepreneurs, further added that it sourced the report from another blog. Meanwhile, the referenced blog’s publication had within three days about 80,000 views, the highest it’s attained since its debut two years ago.
Furthermore, the piece referenced a statement by unnamed researchers that Ms Granato “died two days after the vaccine was administered,” adding that four other volunteers were battling complications from the jab.
“The four in critical conditions will be fine, and these are expected reactions from the vaccines, hence a trial.”
Verification
Dubawa gathered that scientists at the Oxford University first administered the trial vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 to Elisa Granato. She was reportedly the first of two volunteers — the other being Edward O’Neill for the potential COVID-19 vaccine testing on Thursday, April 23rd.
However, contrary to swirling news of her demise, Ms Granato, all smiles, came out to say she was “very much alive”. A BBC Subsay video shared the revelation, featuring Granato sipping coffee.
Also, the UK Department of Health and Social Care has, in a tweet, debunked the reported “death” as “completely untrue.”
Additionally, the World Health Organization, which is at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, never attested to the demise of Ms Granato.
Moreover, the Guardian UK and Reuters already debunked the false report, stating that the University of Oxford News Office confirms that Ms Granato was “alive and well”.
Questionable source
Not only does the blog that carried the report of Ms Granato’s death not have any social media presence, but it also does not have an about page or any contact information. The same is true of its sole writer.
Dubawa’s check on the site also showed that it is rife with false reports, one of which says Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari had contracted coronavirus. This information is, of course, wrong as Mr Buhari still addressed Nigerians Monday, April 27th.
Conclusion
Elisa Granato, a volunteer in a trial of a potential COVID-19 jab at Oxford University, said she is very much alive. The UK government has also said the same, and the WHO has not come out to counter that Granato is alive. Besides, the sheer amount of false reports present on the site questions its reliability.
Several blogs are claiming that the United Nations doubts the presence of any active COVID-19 case in Nigeria.
The blogs promoting this claim, upon scrutiny, merely republished a twisted version of what was initially reported by Vanguard newspapers. Also, their headlines do not match the content of the reports.
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In early April, there were reports from some blogs suggesting that the United Nations through her Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Mr Edward Kallon, noted that she was unsure of the footprints of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria.
These blogs further added that the UN Representative reportedly made the statement at the Covid-19 Basket Fund launch- a joint initiative of the UN and the Nigeria government held on April 6. Further, two different Facebook groups continue to amplify the report; namely, Friends of Punch Newspaper and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu Disciples that have shared the same post on their platform, drawing 6,300 and 402 shares respectively with the daily increase in comments on the platforms.
Verification
Consistent with fake news reports, the headlines do not match the contents of the stories. The caption illustrates this: “We are not even sure if there’s any case of COVID-19 in Nigeria – UN,” which in effect seeks to discredit the work of a major UN body, the WHO, that leads the global work in eradicating the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, using the authority of the UN itself.
Closer scrutiny of the report shows that it is a mangled interpretation of the Vanguard Newspaper report on the launching of the Nigeria/UN Basket Fund. While many bloggers took only the last paragraph of the UN’s representative speech, the Vanguard newspaper did not fail to mention the other dignitaries who attended the event.
Original Premise
Whereas most of the quotes used by the blogs and by the Vanguard newspaper drew comments from the statement issued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres titled: “The recovery from the COVID-19 crisis must lead to a different economy”. Here, for example, is how the Eagle Eye framed its report when compared to the original from the Vanguard version below it.
From Vanguard
The comment below, which is the original from the UN shows that the basis of the Secretary-General’s statement centred on the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 across the world; not peculiar to Nigeria.
Original UN report
The concerns expressed over the rising case count, the spread and the effect of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria bear no relationship to doubts about the existence of active cases of the pandemic in Nigeria; instead, the issues have mostly been on the numerical testing capacity, the communal spread of the virus, health facilities stress among others.
Over the years, the Gates family have been the subject of numerous controversies, mostly because of their extensive support for vaccination. Vaccination has become a much-debated and sometimes hate-filled topic that has made major social media platforms update their policies to tackle the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation. Although there is a scientific, ethical, political and even religious premise to anti-vaccinationists’ arguments, some studies suggest that these assertions are baseless. For instance, researchers found a financial motivation to the popular theory that MMR vaccine causes autism, for which the authors have been accused of falsifying data.
In 2010, the Gateses announced, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that they plan to spend $10 billion on vaccine development and deployment over the next decade. “We must make this the decade of vaccines,” Microsoft founder Bill Gates said. In 2015, Bill Gates gave a now-viral TEDTalk on the possibility of a pandemic affecting nations in the future.
Thus, it is no surprise that over the past week, Bill and Melinda Gates were the centre of attention. Amidst allegations of Covid-19 being the result of a Wuhan lab experiment, the Gates’ (alongside the Obama administration) are being blamed for funding coronavirus research in Wuhan and indirectly causing the spread of the virus. On Tuesday, documents containing 277 email addresses from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 20 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), and nearly 7,000 from the World Health Organization were leaked online. All three organisations have been the subject of conspiracy theories that blame them for the spread of the coronavirus.
Further implicating Bill Gates in the 5G-Covid-19 debacle, a Facebook user claims that Bill Gates, a confirmed Freemason, is using vaccination to implant microchips in people, ultimately introducing the biblically forewarned 666 movements. Worse still, the post amassed over 66.1 thousand views. Another Facebook user twists the words of Bill Gates in an opinion piece resembling a news article. He claims that “Bill Gates suggests depopulation in Africa to reduce pressure on Europe” through his vaccines that secretly sterilise millions of Kenyan women. However, Africa Check revealed that not only is the sterilisation claim more than 20 years old but that the World Health Organization and others have repeatedly debunked it.
Perhaps it’s as a result of these allegations that Melinda Gates decided to divorce her husband – an entirely made-up story that prompted a factcheck by Dubawa. Very recently, Melinda Gates granted an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow, where she detailed the Foundation’s plans to develop a vaccine as a means to end the pandemic.
Two things to note about false information that was evident in most of the outlined claims – (1) Authors provide little or no information around the event serving as the foundation for their clams (2) wrong information is rarely entirely fabricated; instead, it’s an overstretch of a real event.
The Gatekeepers
“Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
The reality of the current media space is such that a wide range of actors can be classified as news organisations, whether by their certifications or mere practise of posting news items consistently, thereby creating a brand previously regulated by journalism. This leeway has led to increased fluidity between trusted and untrusted sources of information. Even among the seemingly trusted sources, a further dichotomy exists between verified and unverified information emanating from these sources at various times.
Sometimes, news organisations inadvertently spread misinformation; other times, actors deliberately and systematically misinform to favour clickbait and “things that appeal to the lowest common denominator”. Recently, Newsflashngr.org published an article on Facebook headlined “Ulcer killed our beloved Abba Kyari not coronavirus – Lai Mohammed explains to Nigerians how he died”; however, a simple click of the link leads to a website with different content – and advertisement for scholarships! Newsflashngr.org also published an article on Facebook headlined “Breaking: APC Chairman Adams tests positive to coronavirus, refuses to go into isolation…”; however, the website yet again contains only advertisements! Both articles garnered thousands of views in 24 hours.
In a similar vein, Dailytimes.ng published an article on Facebook headlined “Boko Haram leader says he’s ready to surrender.” But we find that the keywords in the headline are avoided in the body of the report. The closest to the statement was “the terror leader, Abubakar Shekau, may soon surrender.”
Igbowatch, Biafra Republic, Wisereporters.com and “friends of the punch newspaper” simultaneously claimed that Buhari, speaking to journalists, had said that he wanted to resign amidst the coronavirus outbreak. There was no mention of the event or a direct quote from the speech. Interestingly, this was not the first time these accounts would publish false news. During the 2019 elections, these sites alongside others mentioned in this report shared stories that were sensational, unsourced or incorrect; these news-like items essentially trigger feedback algorithms. While one may argue, theoretically, that ethical news channels hold sole responsibility for gatekeeping; practically, this is unfeasible. This is especially true when we realise that we live in a world where “fake news” often competes with “real news,” and blogs and online mediums pretend to be certified news reporters. And by their actions, they have now assumed the role of gatekeepers; thus controlling information flow and shaping public discourse and decisions. Hence, we humans (and other actors who pass the “I am not a robot” test) must become their gatekeepers, creating a filter of information for their sanity and survival.
Coronavirus Q & A
How is Nigeria fairing in testing for COVID-19?
It has been established by the World Health Organization and acknowledged by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that to halt the further spread of the pandemic, there has to be a high intensity of testing for the virus.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has 12 functional testing facilities in eight states with a capacity to conduct a minimum of 1,500 tests per day in Lagos and 1,000 tests per day in FCT and other states. Consequently, 2,500 tests are held daily in the country.
However, the country has plans to scale up testing as the epidemic intensifies.
Are COVID-19 corpses contagious?
SARS-CoV-2 (the proper name for the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19) can remain infectious on different surfaces for varying amounts of time. SARS-CoV-2 has also been detected in respiratory, faecal and blood specimens. Although NCDC has made it known that the dead bodies of COVID-19 patients are generally not infectious, there is still a potential risk of transmission if there is direct contact with human remains or bodily fluids where the virus is present, or direct contact with contaminated fomites.
Can babies be infected with COVID-19?
Yes. While there have been reports of some babies infected with the virus, adults constitute the majority of confirmed cases. Therefore, adults and children alike are susceptible to the virus. Nevertheless, the WHO has identified people who are at a higher risk, and they are not infants.
What does coronavirus do to your body?
The virus develops in stages. During the incubation period, the virus gets into your body when you breathe it in or touch a contaminated surface and then your face. It attaches its spiky surface proteins to the cells lining your throat, airways and lungs and keeps reproducing. An infected person may not have symptoms at this stage.
Later, the virus becomes more visible as your body tries to fight off the foreign body. Body aches, sore throats, a headache and dry cough, are common symptoms. At this stage, water, rest and some antibiotics can help as your immune system fights off the virus.
If the disease progresses, it moves to the severe stage where there’s too much inflammation in the lungs of those infected. At this stage, some people will need a ventilator to breathe. And at the critical stage, organs in the body begin to shut down, and there is a real chance of death.
(This is a simplification of a complex phenomenon. For more details, read this article)
What can you do?
Be alert, share our tip and don’t share false news!
It’s quite mainstream that anyone, irrespective of age, is susceptible to the infectious disease and babies have been reported to have contracted the virus. Nonetheless, it is important to be suspicious of claims about people who have been infected if credible news platforms or relevant authorities do not publish it. We do not want a repeat of previous incidents where people consume an overdose of natural foods (garlic) or salt in a frenzied bid to prevent death.
The best time to attract a broad readership to your news platform is now! Everyone is at home or should be at home (except essential workers) and the average time spent on internet devices has increased. Hence, news platforms are struggling for your attention by using catching headlines that are either untrue or misleading. In this case, the WHO suggested that the virus “most likely has an animal origin and ecological reservoir from bats”. This is not a fact yet as the headline suggests.
While there has been news of mysterious deaths in Kano, it is yet to be established that the cause is the novel coronavirus. Therefore, as the country is battling the infectious disease, tweeting about a community transmission is logical speculation but not factual. However, in order not to raise unnecessary panic, do not share until verified.
However, contrary to the blog post, the son of the former Vice President is not dead. A 
