How the coronavirus is testing social media’s efforts to stem the flow of fake news amid global public health crisis

In China, WHO has been working closely with Internet giants such as Tencent and Weibo to counter rumours and misinformation. Facebook has been working with 56 fact-checking partners in 46 languages to label fake news and alert users who read or share it. — SCMP

The novel coronavirus outbreak, which has now spread to 70 countries and infected more than 93,000 people, has also sparked what the World Health Organisation calls an “infodemic”.

The Internet, including the one behind China’s Great Firewall, has been flooded with false information, most of it related to unverified cures and unproven conspiracy theories, according to AFP Fact Check, which has posted 90 fact-checks since late January when the virus became a serious health crisis in China.