Messaging app chat groups in SG a catchment for Covid-19 misinformation on ivermectin, vaccines

Visitors using their smartphones at the Rain Vortex indoor waterfall feature at the Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore. Checks by The Sunday Times found at least 17 Telegram groups and channels spreading Covid-19 misinformation. — Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Editorial content producer Theophila Toh, 24, is on a mission: to connect with those in anti-vaccination messaging groups and address fake news there.

She was inspired after a 65-year-old woman was hospitalised on Oct 1 after taking ivermectin – a drug used to treat parasite infections – on the advice of her church friends who said it could protect her against Covid-19.