Fake News on the Rise amidst Covid-19

Market Trend Fake News on the Rise amidst Covid-19

2020-10-09 From Ahlam Rais*

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People have witnessed an increase in fake news during Covid-19. To dissect what is real and fake, the PQE Group has set up a task force which aims to provide scientifically correct information in a clear and simple manner.

In today’s Covid-19 scenario, infodemic is on the rise which has led to the spread of fake news across the globe. (Source: Deposit Photos) — In today’s Covid-19 scenario, infodemic is on the rise which has led to the spread of fake news across the globe.
(Source: Deposit Photos)

“We’re not just battling the virus,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO). “We’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response,” states an online WHO article. This is so true not just for the global organisation but also for the general public. With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO created a new word ‘infodemic’. The term is defined as an excessive amount of information concerning a problem such that the solution is made more difficult.

Controlling the Spread of Fake News

In today’s Covid-19 scenario, infodemic is on the rise which has led to the spread of fake news across the globe. To tackle this issue, the PQE Group under the leadership of Gilda D'Incerti has formed a task force of employees to carry out research on the infodemic.

Under the slogan, ‘Science for laymen’, the team aims to provide scientifically correct as well as up-to-date information in a clear and simple manner on five main areas of information – science, ecology, mathematical models, social economy and legal to the community.

Comprising of 24 expert consultants that have graduated in various disciplines such as biomedical engineering, biotechnology, social and economic sciences, the team is qualified in their respective fields. All the employees were selected by the internal Board for this project and hail from the core countries affected by Covid-19 such as Italy, Spain, Japan, India, the United States, Mexico and Brazil.

Gilda D’Incerti, CEO and Founder, PQE Group (Source: PQE Group) — Gilda D’Incerti, CEO and Founder, PQE Group
(Source: PQE Group)

Gilda D’Incerti, CEO and Founder, PQE Group states, "The idea of the Infodemic Task Force project stems from the fact that in recent months we have been bombarded with a lot of conflicting information, some, perhaps the most interesting, was largely incomprehensible to those who did not have a scientific background. Therefore, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have many colleagues who instead had this background, to launch a dissemination initiative, trying to create clarity and a common vocabulary in terms of scientific terminology for the general public and for the community of PQE Group."

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This 40-page report aims to help you gain a better understanding of the current China's pharmaceutical market regarding a series of pharmaceutical industry related policies. Based on results of the survey among users in the pharmaceutical industry and the expert interviews, it will also provide you with a forecast for the industry and recommendations for your future operating and investment in China.

Adding to this, Giampaolo Mazzuca, Partner & Board Member Infodemic Task Force, PQE Group mentions, "We believe this effort creates added value for our company because it represents a real possibility and opportunity for our employees to take part in a research project and invest part of their working time in investigating Covid-19 news."

Factual Articles

The company has recently published its first two articles:

1. What is Sars-Cov2 from the genetics perspective and how did it evolve from animal to human?

2. Fight against Sars-Cov-2: treatments and prevention. What are the pros and cons of drug therapies?

In the coming weeks, more articles will be published by the team in order to clarify other issues such as:

1. What is the probability that new epidemic phenomena could occur in the future? A probabilistic big data analysis to prevent the emergence and spread of future epidemics

2. How environmental pollution could influence Covid-19 morbidity and spreading?

3. How the Covid-19 crisis changed the economic world map and will?

4. What did WHO, EC, and each country have in terms of an already established legal framework to combat the virus?

People can also visit PQE Group’s Youtube channel in order to update themselves on various Covid-19 related information.

The global pandemic has brought to the fore many such noble ideas and innovative initiatives that aim to help the common man across borders. After all, it is situations like these that make us realise that all of us are in this together.

* The author is an editor at PROCESS Worldwide. Contact: ahlam.rais@vogel.com

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