The article tries to understand the chronology of events that started rumors, fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 that eventually managed to spread across the communities. It highlights the conditions that provide a fertile ground for rumors and the role that social media and word of mouth play in giving them unprecedented speed and reach.
It has been more than two years since Manisha Devi, 35, applied for a correction in her ration card, the document that 814 million Indians officially classified as poor must have to get cheap food from the government. When she was single, Devi shared her name on the ration card with her father. After marriage, when she sought a new ration card, she was disallowed from applying for a fresh one, since her name already existed on the old ration card.
The article tries to understand the chronology of events that started rumors, fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 that eventually managed to spread across the communities. It highlights the conditions that provide a fertile ground for rumors and the role that social media and word of mouth play in giving them unprecedented speed and reach. Therumors and fake news are behavior exhibited by people and fueled by television news channels for some compelling reasons known best to them provide necessary impetus for rumors to take off.
“We need immediate help to ensure our mobiles are working and we can make calls,” said one of the migrant workers stranded on the road from Delhi towards Bundelkhand. Another said, “Our pre-paid amount is over and we do not have money to recharge our phones.”
“We need immediate help to ensure our mobiles are working and we can make calls,” said one of the migrant workers stranded on the road from Delhi towards Bundelkhand. Another said, “Our pre-paid amount is over and we do not have money to recharge our phones.” 2000 out of 12000 migrant workers, who started travelling back to their homes, made a call to a toll-free number to complain and seek help for their mobiles to be topped-up and recharged.
Shivkumari, an Internet Saathi from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, is currently producing 300 masks per day and is supplying it to the local hospitals. At the time of writing, she had received an order of 16,000 masks from a government hospital out of which she has delivered 2500. There are several others who are preparing a sanitiser making unit as well. This helped us in recognising the potential of the digital centers that are now being converted into manufacturing hubs for essential needs.
With new cases reported every day, corona virus has disrupted the people’s life globally. The pandemic has had a major effect on the entire social and economic structure of the society. In India, limited healthcare resources like covid-kits, medicines, masks, PPEs among others is one of the major issues.
Shivkumari, an Internet Saathi from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, is currently producing 300 masks per day and is supplying it to the local hospitals. At the time of writing, she had received an order of 16,000 masks from a government hospital out of which she has delivered 2500.
It is about a month that the onset of Coronavirus or Covid-19 in India has become prominent. Described a rudimentary virus like any other normal cold, fever and chest congestion; its spread can be so fast and certain that the causalities both as sufferers and deaths can reach a very high proportion. Some projections suggest upto 30 per cent of the world’s population will get infected and with huge fatalities which are not quantified.
