​6 in 10 people in Singapore have received fake COVID-19 news, likely on social media: Survey

Channel 5, 21 May, 9pm (http://www.mediaportal.com/mp/playnow.aspx?u=150719&p=1443688530&key=10412511924923616170222201192235119158235136187)- Similar news on Channel 8, 21 May, 10pm (http://www.mediaportal.com/0kg1679176552) and CNA, 21 May, 10pm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjIoDrmFpxI)

Three in five receive information about Covid-19, but only seven in 50 people would share the information most or all of the time. That’s the preliminary findings of research that will pave the way for better decision-making in countering the pandemic. It will also help us develop greater preparedness for the future. The research by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and two local universities involves 700 participants. Prof May O. Lwin from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information said: “We found that on platforms like WhatsApp, people feel that they are in much smaller groups, where you feel very comfortable and you might not need to vet your information as much. Amongst younger people, there is a greater propensity to share the information, and sometimes take information, add their components to it, and then further share that information. And by the time it’s shared 10,000 times, it’s usually in different types of shape and scope.”