Fake news hurts health, especially during outbreaks like Covid-19

Misinformation, which can spread quickly online, could influence people to behave more riskily during an outbreak. — 123rf.com

The rise of fake news could be making disease outbreaks worse, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom.

The researchers focused on influenza, monkeypox and norovirus across two studies, but they say their findings could also be useful in dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak.