Fake news in face of the COVID-19 pandemic
Keywords:
Sars-Cov-2, Fake News, Pandemic, BrazilAbstract
Introduction: The pandemic of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in the Brazilian scenario has created many uncertainties and fears in the population. However, another opponent of public health has emerged on the topic: the dissemination of fake news, that made difficult coping with the disease. Objective: to evaluate the published fakes news about the coronavirus in the Ministry of Health’s program named “Health without fake news” and to outline a profile of these news. Method: The descriptive research evaluated the “Health without fake news” database. The search for data occurred between January and April, and the news were segmented into four categories: Health products, Notifications of cases, Therapeutics and Information about COVID-19. In addition, the frequency of occurrence of each group in the analyzed period was traced, evaluating the subscription types of media circulations. Results: 79 fake news were found, of which the largest class of news was Therapeutics, with 34 occurrences. The content of this class was mostly about the use of hot drinks for prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Regarding the frequency of news appearance, the groups that have been increasing the number of occurrences are Therapeutics and Health products. With regard to news subscriptions, senders are variable, but there is an emphasis on the high number of news signed by health professionals. Conclusions: The news about COVID-19 should be critically evaluated and attention should be paid mainly to news about therapies and/or information signed by health professionals.
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