Virus misinformation fuels panic in Asia

A file photo of people panic buying food and supplies in a supermarket before quarantine in Bogota, Columbia on March 12, 2020. Old footage of a supermarket stampede in reports of panic buying are among some examples of the online misinformation and hoaxes stoking fear and confusion across Asia during the Covid-19 pandemic, where violators of lockdown rules can face jail and hefty fines in some countries. — AFP

HONG KONG: False alerts about a man shot dead at a coronavirus checkpoint, old footage of a supermarket stampede in reports of panic buying, and a 2015 video of a police raid on a brothel recirculated with a misleading claim.

A deluge of online misinformation and hoaxes during the coronavirus crisis is stoking fear and confusion across Asia, where violators of lockdown rules can face jail and hefty fines in some countries.