NAME:BASORUN SIKIRAT ADEOLA 
MATRIC NUMBER:18/SMS04/013
LEVEL:200 
COURSE:CMS 204
Assignment 
2. Social media and proliferation of fake news, dodgy health advice and fake ‘cures.of Covid 19
 
The proliferation of fake news on Coronavirus/Covid19
Friday 10 April 2020
Basorun Adeola 
From conspiracy theories linking 5G networks to the coronavirus, to misleading advice about the best way to battle Covid-19, social media sites have been awash with misinformation again. Some of some of the outlandish falsehoods about the coronavirus spreading across the internet: that it did not exist; that it was engineered in a lab in China, or perhaps the United States; that it was all part of a plan by Bill Gates to insert microchips in our brains to control us.But it has become clear such misinformation can have damaging effects. Different people believe in different Covid-19 conspiracy theories, such as the false idea the virus was linked to the rollout of 5G mobile phone networks.And they found those who believed them were less likely to believe there was a good reason for the lockdown in the UK, with potentially damaging effects on health if they chose to ignore government instructions.In the past week, there have also been arson attacks on phone masts, apparently inspired by the conspiracy theories.
Even in UK Campaigns against 5G have been around for a while, with plenty of groups in the lobbying local councils to ban the new networks on health grounds, despite a lack of evidence they could cause harm.While the social networks have previously been content to allow misinformation about 5G or vaccines or various conspiracy theories, this week they began to act.
WhatsApp made it harder to forward all kinds of stories, while YouTube brought in a policy of deleting video linking symptoms of Covid-19 to 5G. 
A far bigger problem is dealing with the sheer volume of misinformation about the virus flowing across the various platforms.Some argue that rather than banning such material, the answer is to provide rigorous fact-checking and detailed scientific information.
Reference:Rory Cellan-JonesTechnology correspondent (BBC NEWS)
Coronavirus is emerging in more countries around the world and there's currently no known cure. Unfortunately that hasn't stopped a slew of health advice, ranging from useless but relatively harmless, to downright dangerous.
•Garlic- Lots of posts that recommend eating garlic to prevent infection are being shared on Facebook.The WHO (World Health Organization) says that while it is "a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties", there's no evidence that eating garlic can protect people from the new coronavirus.
•Miracel Minerals- The FDA says it "is not aware of any research showing that these products are safe or effective for treating any illness". It warns that drinking them can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and symptoms of severe dehydration.
•Homemade hand sanitizers- There have been many reports of shortages of hand sanitiser gel, as washing your hands is one key way to prevent spread of the virus .As reports of the shortages emerged in Italy, so did recipes for home-made gel on social media.But these recipes, alleged dupes for one of the country's most popular brands, were for a disinfectant better suited for cleaning surfaces and, as scientists pointed out, not suitable for use on skin.
•Drinkable Silver-•The use of colloidal silver was promoted on US televangelist Jim Bakker's show. Colloidal silver is tiny particles of the metal suspended in liquid. A guest on the show claimed the solution kills some strains of coronavirus within 12 hours (while admitting it hadn't yet been tested on Covid-19).
•Drinking water every 15minutes- Infections like coronaviruses enter the body via the respiratory tract when you breathe in. Some of them might go into your mouth, but even constantly drinking water isn't going to prevent you from catching the virus.
•Heat and avoiding ice cream-Trying to heat your body or expose yourself to the sun presumably to make it inhospitable to the virus  is completely ineffective, according to Prof Bloomfield. Once the virus is in your body, there's no way of killing it your body just has to fight it off.
Reference: Reality Check teamBBC News
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