Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis unleashes misinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories online

In a bizarre turn of events, as COVID-19 continues to tighten its grip on the world, Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis has swept people into an online vortex of misinformation. The social media saw a flood of rumours, misinformation and conspiracy theories as the news broke on Friday. From tweets claiming how Democrats might have intentionally infected the US President to people on Facebook suggesting that he is faking the illness just weeks before the presidential elections, people were subjected to several versions of Trump’s diagnosis on their social media feed. 

Many people even expressed their doubts regarding the timing of the news, as one of the most divisive November election is just around the corner. Meanwhile, Trump too has contributed to the misinformation campaign by sharing unverified reports about the efficiency of hydroxychloroquine to widespread claims on voter fraud, both on Twitter and public addresses. 

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“This is both a political crisis weeks before the election and also a health crisis; it’s a perfect storm,” said Alexandra Cirone, an assistant professor at Cornell University who studies the effect of misinformation on government.

Donald Trump, who has made numerous contradictory remarks regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, most recently had mocked Democratic rival Joe Biden for wearing masks, thus sparking the partisan conspiracy theories on social media. The news also triggered bizarre conjecture among the QAnon followers, a baseless campaign that claims Trump is fighting against a secret network of government officials and celebrities running a child trafficking ring. 

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How has social media responded to the chaos?

With chaos roiling on social media platforms, Facebook informed on Friday, October 2, that it had swiftly begun monitoring the information around Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis. The site has started applying fact checks to some of the false reports. Meanwhile, Twitter was reported to be monitoring a surge in “copypasta” campaigns around the US President’s illness.

“Copypasta” campaigns are an attempt by several accounts on Twitter to relay the same phrase over and over again to inundate the users with messaging, sometimes signalling of coordinated activity. As per reports, the microblogging website is currently working on limiting such posts. However, according to an analysis by misinformation-tracking tech company VineSight, nearly 30,000 Twitter users had retweeted a range of conspiracy theories about the news on October 2 itself.

As of now, Donald Trump is hospitalised for 'few days' at Walter Reed Medical Centre after needing supplemented oxygen at White House. Even after his admission, confusion has surrounded his health status with his staff and associates making contradicting remarks.

(With AP Inputs)

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