BBC team finds COVID-19 misinformation has links to assault and deaths.
A BBC team tracking COVID-19 misinformation has found a link between fake information about the virus and deaths. They claim that the harms of rumours, conspiracy theories and health misinformation might be stronger than we can account for. According to the BBC team, online rumours have played a role on people’s behaviour in different areas, ranging from political participation to personal health issues. For instance, they refer to mob attacks in India, phone masts set alight in the UK and mass poisonings in Iran.
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