At a crucial time like this, it is important to harness social media and spread the right information to counter misinformation, said T.V. Venkateswaran, Science communicator and scientist at Vigyan Prasar.
He was speaking on “Science communication through social media during pandemic times” as part of the Indian International Science Festival 2020 organised by the Press Information Bureau on Monday.
Mr. Venkateswaran said that ever since outbreak of COVID-19, social media was used to spread misinformation. “People’s reaction to a new disease which has been unheard of has been a combination of panic, coming up with conspiracy theories, or even disbelief which has led them to seek quack remedies. All these pose challenges to ensuring public cooperation to fight the spread of the virus,” he said.
“We cannot ignore how many people demonstrated acts of humanity and kindness at a time like this and helped people out.”
He said experts in the field of science and medicine from across the country came together to harness the power of social media and reach out to people through a host of initiatives.
“The web portal indscicov.in has around 500 scientists from across the country who recognised the need to share accurate, science based information regarding COVID-19 in different languages to ensure it reaches many people. Covid-gyan.in, an initiative of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Indian Institute of Science, was initiated to provide resources and information about the pandemic,” Mr. Venkateswaran said.
Series of lectures
The PIB too, he said, had been working on combating fake news and misinformation. “Vigyan Prasar brought out Ariviyal Palagai with over 100 lectures in Tamil from experts collaborating with the Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre. This sought to take the right information to the people at a time when there were new rumours and unverified information being spread,” he added.
M. Annadurai, Additional Director General, PIB, delivered the introductory address as a part of the discussion.
