Covid-19: Monitoring the social media pandemic

Editor’s note:

Controversial French virologist Luc Montagnier did not say that Covid-vaccinated people will die within two years. This is good news, because in some countries – like Britain – almost 90% of adults have received the jab. Globally, this theory would involve the deaths of several billions.

Incidentally, one of the easiest ways to fake a video is to change the audio track. And one of the easiest ways to cover your tracks is to make sure that the new audio track is a translation, which explains why the original audio is absent. Or just add subtitles, as happened here. 

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“All vaccinated people will die within two years.”

That is the terse introduction to a widely-circulated WhatsApp message claiming Nobel Prize-winning virologist Luc Montagnier. It confirms that there is “no chance of survival” for people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. 

“There is no hope and no treatment for those who have been vaccinated already. We must be prepared to incinerate the bodies.”

But the message, falsely attributed to Montagnier — who has made anti-vaccination comments in the past — is misleading and the claims  are not backed by any science or data.

Such misinformation, always attributed to prominent figures to earn credence, has plagued the cyberspace and held back the fight against the pandemic. 

The misleading information has circulated widely across Kenya via social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

Even before Kenyan authorities announced the first confirmed case more than a year ago, videos and images fanning misinformation spread.  

Empty grocery shops, long queues at checkout counters and the all-too-familiar snatched-up rolls of toilet paper are among the most typical photos and videos that permeated the internet. 

In mid-March 2020, people flocked to shops and supermarkets across the country to stock up before being ‘quarantined’ — grabbing whatever they believed necessary for survival.

The deluge of misinformation took fact-checkers to task. 

Africa Check, a fact-checking NGO,  set up a live guide on coronavirus fact checks at the onset of the pandemic and has debunked tens of fake claims. 

According to the Africa Check, misinformation around the country has spread in various forms, including hoaxes, falsified content, misleading claims, and scams. Most of the information points towards cures and vaccines. The ecosystem of false information has also proved effective by adding to the believability of the claims.

Debunking the myths

One recent claim was made on April 24, 2021 by Mercy Mwangangi, Cabinet Administrative Secretary for Health who overstated Kenya’s position seven in terms of vaccination distribution.

“Right now, we are number seven on the leader board, and we intend to climb that leader board,” Mercy Mwangangi said at a televised press briefing. 

This is false. Available data shows that Kenya, although relatively ahead of its East African neighbours, has vaccinated less than 2% of its population. 

A video of the misleading claim has at the time of publication been watched by 162,000 people on Twitter and Facebook. 

By the time it was shared, Kenya had vaccinated 1.3 people per 100 against the average of 23 per 100 in the world. As of April 24, 2021, the top 10 countries had vaccinated between 47 and 121 people per 100, according to the Our World in Data coronavirus vaccinations tracker.

According to Dr Subiri Obwogo, a consultant in health policy and systems strengthening, leadership attitudes and perceptions matter a lot in any pandemic.

“Having a strong health care system counts just as much as a country’s leader’s perceptions in combating a pandemic. As we often say, the benefit of good information isn’t knowledge; its action,” said Dr Obwogo, who also sits at the advisory team of the government’s response to Covid-19 in informal settlements. 

The misinformation has served to stroke fear than encourage proper health guidelines. After the first case was confirmed in Kenya, an image of coffins with rosses atop went viral in country. 

Claiming to have been shot in Italy, it warned Kenya to avert a similar situation. 

However, a quick image reverse search using TinEye backdates the photo to September 28, 2015. The photograph taken by AFP photographer Alberto Pizzoli shows coffins of victims seen in a hangar of Lampedusa airport on October 5, 2013, after a boat with migrants sank, killing more than a hundred people.

As the coronavirus pandemic enters its second year, many people have grown accustomed to coronavirus statistics, and record-breaking case counts. The internet appeals across the country show the severity of the problem and personalize it by focusing on people’s struggle for help – a potent reminder that the situation is far from over.

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This is an edited version of a story by Ireri Brian Murimi which originally appeared on Tv47