Be alert to sensational information

Gossip

Almost everyone suffers from the disease of “gossip”. Because society is full of information channels, while each individual cannot be separated from that society. Right or wrong information, at this time, one cannot believe in oneself anymore. Then, many people believed in “Facebook friends”, when they saw that Facebook “seemed real”.

Most notably, on August 19, a number of Facebook accounts posted information that "Vinh city will apply 16+ in the prevention of Covid-19". From this fake news, many "gossipers" quickly shared it without verification. As a result, the city's residents were running "out of breath", rushing to buy all kinds of things. Markets, shops, and small supermarkets were suddenly crowded with people jostling to shop. Many households bought food and packed it in the refrigerator, even leaving it in the corners of the house.

Inaccurate rumors about Directive 16+ in Vinh City on August 19 caused many people to run around shopping. Photo: NN screenshot

Then, when the official information was released, the provincial and municipal authorities did not decide to apply the 16+ directive as rumored. Many people turned to curse this “Facebook friend” for making their family and neighborhood “crazy”, even risking the spread of the disease when they crowded to buy goods. Some people even “posted” to request the police and functional forces to strictly handle those who posted the initial news.

The above unverified information also easily explains the “noise-seeking” disease of each person. That is, the first person to post news just heard a certain information and hastily “posted it immediately” while there is no official conclusion from the government or competent authority.

Those who posted this information were punished by the authorities according to the law. Photo: TH

For many people, the disease of "gossiping" has become chronic, along with the desire to quickly share information to prove that they have an important source of information. Even some long-time journalists have at times reported inaccurate news on social networks, such as the case of "Doctor Khoa giving up his parents' ventilator to save a pregnant woman with twins" in Ho Chi Minh City in early August 2021. At first, their behavior was simply thinking that they had accurate information, spreading "useful things" for society. But in reality, that was not the case. That behavior was punished by the authorities according to the provisions of the law.

Calmly receive and process information

After the inaccurate information about 16+ in the Covid-19 epidemic prevention in Vinh City, many people were "bewildered" to look back at themselves. "Oh yeah! I just heard about it. Did you hear the announcement on the ward loudspeaker?...". After the incident, many people came to the conclusion: "We must calmly wait for official statements from competent authorities, or documents and announcements from authorities at all levels about the issues we are interested in. And another accurate source of information is information from official press agencies".

The worst thing is the mentality of some "gullible" people, who quickly believe what their "Facebook friends" post, like, comment and share information, making society even more chaotic. As early as the afternoon of August 20, Hanoi City decided to extend the implementation of Directive 16 until September 6 with the recommendation "wherever you are, stay there" to effectively fight the Covid-19 epidemic. However, some Facebook accounts have spread the news that "the city will ban people from moving for 7 days, those who stay at home will stay at home for 7 days, those who go to the office will stay at home for 7 days, those who go to the workshop will stay at the workshop for 7 days...". This information is contrary to the direction of the city government. On the evening of August 20, VTV stated that the above information was fake and the authorities are investigating and clarifying...

The information circulating on social media on August 20 in Hanoi is fake news. Photo: VOV

Looking at the cases of spreading inaccurate information while society is struggling to fight Covid-19, many opinions say that those who spread “fake news”, in addition to violating the law, also show “moral deficiencies”, causing unpredictable consequences. Of course, all those who commit such acts will be dealt with according to the law. The remaining problem is our awareness – those who receive information need to be calm, analyze, and compare thoroughly so as not to “go astray”.

Fake news, inaccurate news or also known as “Fake news” has long been infiltrating many areas of economic, political, cultural and social life, sometimes causing panic and disorientation in the community. Given the lessons of many people who have stumbled, each citizen needs to stay calm when accessing information.

Especially when receiving "sensational" information, information that attracts likes, views... on social networks, we must be vigilant, cautious, and compare it with information from the government system at all levels and information from the mainstream press; we should not share it arbitrarily, if we are not careful, we can easily make the mistake of spreading fake news.

It can be said that each citizen's vigilance and alertness to "sensational" information on social networks is one of the "steel shields" to prevent, repel and eliminate fake news "lurking" around us!.

Strengthening the handling of fake news and false information about Covid-19 on cyberspace

(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, when the fourth wave of the epidemic broke out at a rapid pace in Vietnam, a wave of fake news and fabricated news also followed. The appearance of a lot of bad and toxic information along with a large number of "spontaneous" video clips widely spread on cyberspace has reduced people's confidence in the work of disease prevention and control, causing confusion and indignation in public opinion. If not handled well, it will easily create hot spots, affecting local social order and safety, making it difficult for the work of disease prevention and control nationwide.