The UN and WHO urge Countries to Act to Stop Harmful Information Spread

  

COVID-19 pandemic: Urge countries to take stronger action to stop the spread of harmful information

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations, specialized agencies and partners today called on countries to formulate and implement action plans to promote the timely dissemination of scientifically based information, prevent the dissemination of false information, and respect freedom of speech.

 

United Nations bodies draw attention on Fake News regarding Corona Virus

WHO, UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UN "Global Pulse" Program and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The International Federation, together with the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Uruguay, held an online seminar during the 75th United Nations General Assembly to draw attention to the harm caused by misinformation and dissemination of false information, which was deliberately disseminated to advance an agenda Error message.

 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Coronavirus Fake News: 

“Since the virus began to spread globally, inaccurate and even dangerous information has begun to spread widely on social media, causing people to be confused and misled. 

We initiated a'verification'. Advocate, use facts to combat misinformation. Through cooperation with media partners, individuals, influential people and social media platforms, the content we spread promotes science, provides solutions, and inspires unity.

In our efforts to build this is crucial when the public has confidence in the safety and effectiveness of any COVID-19 vaccine being developed. 

The 'people's vaccine' we need is to be affordable and accessible to all."

 

WHO Director-General Dr. Tan Desai said on COVID Misinformation:

 “Misinformation and false information put health and lives at risk and undermine people’s trust in science, institutions, and health systems.

 To fight this pandemic, we need trust and Unity, when there is distrust, unity will be greatly reduced. False information hinders the response to this pandemic, so we must unite to fight it and promote science-based public health advice.

 Response to COVID-19 The same principles apply to the management of information epidemics. We need to work together to prevent, detect and respond to this problem."

 

UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said on COVID-19 Misinformation:

 “In addition to having a direct impact on the pandemic response, false information also undermines the public’s trust in democratic processes and institutions, and exacerbates social divisions. 

This is the greatest cause of our time. One of the worrying governance challenges. The United Nations Development Programme is actively cooperating with member states, other UN agencies and other partners to find a holistic response that respects human rights."

 

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, said on Coronavirus Myths:

 “Misinformation is one of the fastest-growing challenges facing children today. It uses and further widens the cracks in trust in society and institutions, and undermines people’s understanding of science and Medical confidence, and division of the community.

 In the most harmful situations, such as when parents are persuaded not to vaccinate their children, it can even be fatal. 

Because misinformation is not so much a disease as a symptom, so respond Misinformation requires not only to provide the truth, but also to build trust among leaders, communities and individuals."

 

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Baianima said on Coronavirus conspiracy theories:

 “We can only defeat COVID-19 with facts, science and community solidarity. Misinformation perpetuates stigma and discrimination and must not be protected against ensuring human rights. Ensuring that people at risk and marginalized have access to health and social protection services is a hindrance."

 

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said on COVID conspiracy theories:

 “Since the pandemic began, UNESCO has mobilized an international network of media partners, journalists, fact-checkers, community radio stations and experts to help Citizens provide the means to combat false information and rumors that have been exacerbated by the epidemic.

 Collective mobilization for the promotion of high-quality and reliable information while strictly ensuring respect for freedom of speech is crucial. Free, independent, and diverse news media are now more than ever More necessary."

 

Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, said COVID-19 Fake News:

 “Trust is the cornerstone of the digital world. Based on the long-term joint initiative of the WHO and ITU, “BeHe@lthy BeMobile” (BeHe@lthy BeMobile) has been established since the beginning of the crisis. 

Lianhe has been cooperating with the national telecommunications and health authorities and mobile network operators to send text messages to people who may not have access to the internet, so that they can obtain scientific and evidence-based COVID-19 health advice directly on their phones."

 

World health Organization (WHO) busts fake News
COVID Fake News busted by WHO

WHO and partners urge countries to engage with communities when formulating national action plans, listen to their opinions, and empower communities to build trust and resilience against misinformation.

 

Joe Pagan, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said on COVID misconceptions:

 “Promoting community participation and understanding the community’s views on disease and response measures are essential to building trust and ending the epidemic.

 If our response measures do not really Reflecting the concerns and opinions of the community, we will not be regarded as pivotal or trusted by the affected population, and there is a risk of failure in response to the epidemic.

 Local responders are at the forefront of this crisis more than ever. We want to Recognize the important role they play in understanding and applying local knowledge and community feedback."

 

Media and Social Media should Curb COVID Fake News

The co-organizers also called on the media, social media platforms, civil society leaders and influential people to further strengthen their actions to disseminate accurate information and prevent the spread of errors and false information. 

Access to accurate information and the free exchange of ideas online and offline are the keys to an effective and credible public health response.

 

Robert Kirkpatrick, director of the UN Secretary-General’s Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Initiative, UN’s “Global Pulse” program, said on Coronavirus erroneous information: 

“The UN’s “Global Pulse” program was established in the United Nations system ten years ago to be the first to use real-time and predictable insights. 

To protect vulnerable groups in times of crisis. During this pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in the demand for advanced analysis across the UN system and member states.

 We will continue to work with WHO and other partners to help identify and combat errors and False information."

 

Efforts to curb corona virus misinformation

The WHO defines an information epidemic as online and offline information excess. It includes accurate information as well as false and false information.

 

In May 2020, the member states of the WHO passed Resolution WHA73.1 on the response to the COVID-19 epidemic at the World Health Assembly. 

The resolution recognizes that managing the information epidemic is a key part of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: it calls on member states to provide reliable content about COVID-19, take measures to combat false and false information, and use various digital technologies to respond to the epidemic. 

The resolution also calls on international organizations to deal with errors and false information in the digital domain, work to prevent harmful online activities from compromising health response measures, and support the provision of science-based data to the public.


Share on Social Media for Awareness and to Help Someone who may be in Need of this Info >>


Post a Comment

[blogger]

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.
Javascript DisablePlease Enable Javascript To See All Widget