In Hong Kong, a pro-establishment politician named Ann Chiang posted a ten minute video on her Facebook page that shows how to steam surgical masks so they can be reused. The video was reposted from a Weibo blogger with more than two million followers, which garnered more than 60,000 views by 4 Feb 2020.
Hong Kong politician Ann Chiang sharing a false post that claims surgical masks can be reused by steaming them for ten minutes.
Her post has since been heavily criticised by the Centre for Health Protection, who took to social media to warn people that disposable face masks cannot be reused.
Clarification from the Centre for Health Protection in response to Ann Chiang’s false posts about steamed masks.
"Surgical masks can be washed, steamed and reused?! Don’t believe in these rumours!" the centre's post on Facebook said in Chinese, accompanied by a graphic showing a mask in a pan of boiling water and a caption that states "Absolutely not!".
Rachel Blundy, editor of AFPFactcheck, says that it is “concerning” when people in positions of power, including celebrities, promote misinformation.
“They have huge traction and many people trust them to provide reliable information. They may also appeal to an individual's natural biases just to get support,” said Ms. Blundy.
Even politicians can be guilty of spreading misinformation. At a press conference in mid-March, US president Donald Trump stated that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the use of a malaria drug, chloroquine, for treatment of patients with COVID19. The US’s Food and Drug Administration has since debunked Trump’s statement. Unfortunately, a man from Phoenix, died after he took chloroquine phosphate in an attempt to self-medicate for COVID19. His wife, who also consumed the drug, was under critical care.
The Banner Poison and Drug Information Center warns that people should not try to self-medicate or experiment with new ways to prevent or cure COVID19.
According to Buzzfeed reporter Jane Lytvynenko, people can easily fall prey to recommendations and advice from high-profile figures especially in the time of crisis. But there are people who will scrutinise their words.
“Even if a politician says something false, it is possible that the correct information is still going to be online,” she said. “There are still people replying to politicians online for the good information, there are still journalists correcting information.”
In Malaysia, health minister Dr Adham Baba even claimed that drinking warm water can kill the coronavirus in a televised interview, claiming that “the virus doesn’t like heat”. His advice has gone viral with many criticising his advice.
Screencap of Malaysia’s health minister Dr Adham Baba claiming how drinking warm water can flush viruses out of the stomach in a television show.
“Of course for public figures like celebrities or politicians, if they command an audience they should be responsible (with information),” said Nicholas Fang, general manager of Blackdot Research, a fact-checking organisation based in Singapore.
Public figures aside, people also tend to trust their closed ones for information.
“Our biggest fear is if people close to you create fake news that's easy to share, these will be injected into different social spheres,” Mr. Fang added.
There are also cases of high-profile individuals using social media effectively to share accurate information.
Tom Hanks, for example, was one of the first Hollywood actors to test positive for COVID19 in Australia. He used his Twitter account to announce that he caught the virus and later urged the public to practice adequate health measures.
Tom Hanks revealed that he and his wife contracted COVID19 while filming in Australia.
Mr. Hanks was in Australia filming a new movie directed by local director Baz Luhrmann. Mr. Luhrmann also confirmed the authenticity of the situation by postponing the remaining production schedule of the movie “as soon as the time is right”, according to a tweet.
Mr. Hank’s director, Baz Luhrmann, has confirmed that movie production will be postponed due to the COVID19 situation.
But still, multimedia reporter Heaven Taylor-Wynn from Mediawise, a fact-checking organisation aimed at teenagers from the Poynter Institute, advises that it is better to take what politicians say with a pinch of salt.
“Politicians aren’t experts, they make laws but they don’t know about epidemiology,” she said, adding that the public should always listen to their local health organisations for up to date advice.
Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, a clinical professor of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, also advises to check what politicians have said about COVID19 advice before heeding their advice.
“For example, if you know Donald Trump's track record, he’s someone who always gives wrong advice and fake ideas. In general, be cautious if the advice comes from a politician,” he said.