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BREAKING NEWS from WhatsApp University on coronavirus: Here’s how you can fact check

Coronavirus
Fake news has been one of the biggest problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has been witnessing. Here’s how you can avoid falling for it.
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Does your entire family believe that NASA has recorded the coronavirus leaving India because crores of Indians clapped together? Or that lighting diyas can kill the virus this Sunday? Are you getting forwards about what Taiwan doctors think you should do to prevent COVID-19?
In these uncertain times, misinformation can add to the confusion, creating panic or a false sense of assurance. Many people do not pause to verify information that they receive on messaging apps like WhatsApp, and immediately forward it to those on their contact list. 
Don’t be that person. Here are some tips to verify the information that you have received before you fact check your loved ones – and stop the spread of fake news: 
Google is your best friend: Received a message that looks suspicious? Copy the first two or three lines and paste it on Google search. In 2017, to counter fake news, Google started the “Fact Check” tag in Google News. This label identifies articles that include information fact checked by news publishers and fact-checking organisations.
Recently, a fake message read: “SERIOUS EXCELLENT ADVICE by Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases.  Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat is moist, never DRY. Take a few sips of water every 15 mins at least. WHY?  Even if the virus gets into your mouth…drinking water or other liquids will WASH them down through your oesophagus and into the stomach. Once there in tummy…your stomach ACID will kill all the virus. If you don’t drink enough water more regularly…the virus can enter your windpipes and into the LUNGS.”
If you copy and paste a few lines on Google, the first link in the results will mention the claim, the source of the message, and whether it is true or false. It will also link you to a credible fact check. 

What’s the source? Often, fake forwards have links to random websites that may be modified or use misleading names. Like BBC.com will become BBC-edition.com. The latter is fake. Always check the source of the link being sent to you. Check the company’s logo as well. Sometimes those are also slightly modified and misleading. 
Fake forwards may also contain misleading and vague information attributed to a random non-existent expert, say an “IIT professor” or a “NASA scientist.” Always ask for details, who is the IIT professor, when did he/she say it, what exactly was the context? 
Even celebrities can fall for fake news. In recent times, Twitter removed a video on coronavirus put up by superstar Rajinikanth. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan also deleted a tweet with false information on coronavirus after several people called him out for it.
Check for grammatical errors: Usually government releases and official information have their grammar in place and do not have common spelling and grammatical mistakes. Remember that notice allegedly from the Health Ministry dated March 13, which claimed holidays had been announced for four states from March 14 to 21? Well, that was found to be fake and one of the most telling hints was the spelling of Gujarat, which was spelt as ‘Gujrat’ in the note. The fake notification went viral and the Health Ministry later had to issue a clarification that it was fake.

Claim: An office memorandum regarding declaration of holidays in states, in wake of #Coronavirus is widely getting circulated on #WhatsApp.#PIBFactCheck: No such clarification has been issued by @MoHFW_INDIA.
For all official information please follow @MoHFW_INDIA or @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/U33SmtWott
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 13, 2020

Check for details: Did you get a photograph that looks suspicious? Check for minute details, zoom in. Most ridiculous claims are accompanied by Photoshopped images and small details like a change in skin tone, editing mistakes and blurred backgrounds are hints that the image may have been photoshopped.
If tweets are forwarded to you: As far as possible, rely only on verified accounts – although even verified accounts can sometimes be wrong. If someone sends you a screenshot of a tweet, demand that the actual link of the tweet be sent to you. If a piece of information is inaccurate or misleading, usually it gets taken down (context: MyGov India’s tweet that quoted a false claim by a former IMA President). 
Secondly, do not go by the display name of the Twitter account. That is very easy to change. Always check for the handle of the Twitter account, the one which has the ‘@’ symbol. Remember the viral tweet about Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe? 

How to check if an image is fake: Again, Google is truly your best friend. Save the image and upload it into Google images (Link here). The search results will tell you if an image is old, if it appeared earlier on the web and if it is old, in what context it was used.
How to check if a video is fake: Take screenshots of the video and do the same as you would do for a picture – upload on Google images and check the search results. 
Google also has a fact check explorer: Confused about a particular piece of information? Type it into the Fact Check Explorer. Every topic that was searched and fact-checked will be mentioned below.
Here are some Google Chrome extensions you can download to check:
RevEye: This extension helps you do the reverse search of an image across multiple platforms at once. You can also choose between the image search engines Google, Bing, Yandex, TinEye and Baidu.
InVid: This is a video fact checking app that breaks a video into screenshots and then you can check details of that image.
Additionally, there are several fact checking websites like Alt News, Factchecker.in, BoomLive, etc. which conduct daily fact checks on many viral forwards. You can also send them a picture or message that seems fake and they will fact check it for you.
For example, a message claimed that the UK and the US have chosen Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead a task force to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. However, Alt News analysed the message and fact checked it here. Another message had claimed that Right To Pray activist Trupti Desai violated COVID-19 lockdown to buy alcohol and was thus detained. However, this was an old video that was circulated and the claim was debunked by BoomLive.
Stay safe, both from coronavirus and fake news, and wash your hands!

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Source: TheNewsMinute.com