With false rumors about the blockade, how to prevent strange viruses, many YouTubers and Facebookers turn social networks into a place to spread fake news during the epidemic season.
On May 10, Tran Van Duy (Duy “Candle”, 39 years old, residing in Hoang Mai, Hanoi), owner of Hanoi Pho channel with more than 400,000 subscribers, was fined 12.5 million VND after spreading fake news. about the blockade of Hanoi.
On May 6, Le Quang Huy (27 years old, resident of Hue City), owner of the Thua Thien Hue fanpage with 100,000 followers, was fined 5 million VND after spreading false information about the local epidemic situation. In early 2020, Facebooker Dang Nhu Quynh (resident in Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) with 300,000 followers on his personal page, had to remove 216 posts with unverified content, containing misleading comments, spreading false information. loss of Covid-19 epidemic in Vietnam. Taking advantage of the community’s attention in the context of the outbreak of the disease again, many people defy to get likes, share, and interact on social networks for personal gain. In which, many YouTubers, hot Facebookers are using fake news as bait to increase coverage. 
Tran Van Duy was fined 12.5 million VND for spreading false information about the Covid-19 epidemic. Photo: Hanoi Pho. Fake news matrix According to a study by the Reuters Institute of the University of Oxford (UK), public figures and influencers are responsible for creating or spreading 20% of fake news about the Covid-19 epidemic. Notably, these posts account for nearly 70% of interactions on social networking sites. According to the The Guardian There are two types of fake information that are common during the epidemic season: fake news about policies and actions of public authorities and false health information such as new infections, deaths, prevention, virus treatment. Scott Brennen, a researcher at the Reuters Institute, said: “As social media platforms thrive, people with millions of followers contribute to blowing up the fake news matrix. This group often reaches a large amount of the public but does not have a sense of verification and responsibility when spreading any information.” 
Michelle Phan was criticized for spreading aromatherapy oils to help repel Covid-19. Photo: Getty. In March 2020, Kelvin “Brother Nature” Pena, a YouTuber with nearly 90,000 subscribers and more than 2.4 million followers on Twitter, shared a post advising people to “drink hot water every 15 minutes to kill the virus.” corona”. After this information was confirmed by medical experts to be completely false, Pena deleted the post. However, at that time, the YouTuber’s share was liked by more than 200,000 people. Similarly, Vietnamese-American “makeup witch” Michelle Phan has also turned her personal channel with nearly 9 million subscribers into a place to spread fake news about the epidemic. In early February of last year, this beauty blogger confirmed that aromatic essential oils have antiviral properties. Her post has been shared by thousands of people, including famous names in the makeup industry. However, medical experts were quick to confirm with Insider that there is no scientific evidence to support a link between aromatherapy and disease prevention. Deliberately shocking In addition to the lack of verification and lack of understanding about the content they share, some influencers also create controversial content about the epidemic to attract interaction. Jeff Hancock, a professor of Communication at Stanford University (USA), said that the more anxious people are, the more people need to seek information to minimize feelings of insecurity. “Based on the attention and interest of users, many YouTubers, Facebookers, Tiktokers will use fake news or false news to attract people’s attention, thereby making money based on the amount of interaction,” he said. Hancock said. Ava Louise, 21-year-old Tiktoker, was criticized for posting a video of licking the toilet with the hashtag “coronavirus challenge” in March 2020. However, in fact, this is just a fake trend created by herself to attract the attention of viewers. Reply Business Insider , Louise admitted she wanted to be famous when sharing the video on social networks. Louise added that because there was too much news about the epidemic, her media coverage was not as good as before. At the end of March last year, YouTuber Mi Naima (48 years old) in Fez, Morocco was arrested after claiming the Covid-19 pandemic was bogus and inciting viewers to ignore social distancing measures. avoid disease. After being arrested, this YouTuber claimed that she intentionally created shocking content to get views. 
Fake news about Covid-19 is rife on social media. Photo: radiorebelde.cu. During epidemics, researchers point out that the spread of fake news is as dangerous as the spread of viruses. Research by Dr. Daniel Allington, senior lecturer in artificial intelligence at King’s College London (UK), shows that people who believe in fake news are more likely to oppose the government’s social distancing guidelines. Mr. Allington gave an example of a conspiracy theory that 5G mobile telecommunications poles were the cause of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that spread in the UK in April 2020. This fake news was spread on personal pages by a series of celebrities including singer MIA, actor Woody Harrelson, boxer Amir Khan and incited the British to burn down at least three 5G wave columns. “In addition to taking anti-social actions, people who believe in fake news are also less likely to stay at home, wash their hands often or ensure social distancing. This proves that fake information can promote real action, having a negative impact on the fight against Covid-19 in countries,” said Dr. Allington.
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