Coronavirus: Government slams ‘breath holding’ advice amid fake news crackdown
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Specialist government units have been forced to rubbish claims that holding your breath for 10 seconds is a test for coronavirus amid a surge in misinformation about the pandemic.
Number 10’s Rapid Response Unit identified the claim in posts circulating on Facebook and Whatsapp that claimed to come from a board member at Stanford Hospital.
Other false medical advice included gargling water every 15 minutes “wash the virus down into the stomach, where acid could kill it”.
The government said it was tackling up to 70 incidents a week where false narratives containing multiple misleading claims were being spread on social media.
Other examples included text messages and doctored images purporting to come from the government and a tax refund scam imitating HMRC.
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The unit’s responses to coronavirus misinformation include direct rebuttal on social media, asking social media firms to remove misleading content and ensuring public health campaigns are promoted through reliable sources.
“We need people to follow expert medical advice and stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives,” said culture secretary Oliver Dowden.
“It is vital that this message hits home and that misinformation and disinformation which undermines it is knocked down quickly.”
The government will this week push social media companies to do more to prevent the spreading of misleading information on their platforms.
Authorities will also relaunch the Don’t Feed the Beast campaign, which was set up last year to help people identify whether or not online information is reliable.
It comes after MPs urged members of the public to flag up examples of coronavirus misinformation on social media as the government scrambles to stamp out fake news.