The European External Action Service (EEAS) warned in a special report posted on its EUvsDisinfo site, on Thursday 19 March, against the "proliferation of significant quantities of disinformation" about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The false theories that are most commonly disseminated present, for example, COVID-19 as a hoax or as a biological weapon deployed by China, the United States, the United Kingdom or Russia (with the aim of destroying the EU and NATO). Other false theories are that migrants are the source of the virus and spread it in the EU, that natural remedies exist, that the EU could impose mass vaccinations, etc.
These theories are drowning in the overabundance of information related to the epidemic. Overabundance or "infodemic", as the World Health Organisation has called it, makes it difficult to find reliable sources of information and safe advice.
Diverse origins. Although COVID-19 is a daily topic in pro-Kremlin media (see EUROPE 12450/13) - as of 19 March, the EEAS reported more than 110 cases of Russian disinformation identified within 2 months about the COVID-19 - Russia is not alone in being implicated.
False news has also been observed in the Western Balkans information environment, the report says.
The document also points the finger at China. It questions the censorship exercised by the Chinese Communist Party, particularly on the YY and WeChat platforms, and noted "the aim of the party to show itself as strong and effective in face of the pandemic".
The EEAS also says that in North Africa and the Middle East, "the outbreak has been used by authorities, terrorist organisations and prominent influencers to advance geopolitical agendas". Daesh, in particular, has exploited hashtags on the coronavirus to disseminate its own messages, the report details.
The role of social media. "Social media companies are also working on ways to tackle the spread of mis- and disinformation around the coronavirus", says the EEAS.
Various measures have been taken by the platforms: removal of false content, giving advertising space to public health authorities, removing apps connected to COVID-19 from Google PlayStore.
Others have only been announced. Twitter plans to broaden its definition of harm to content that goes directly against advice by trusted sources such as national health authorities. Facebook has promised to set up a "Coronavirus Information Centre", at the top of News Feed, with real-time updates from health authorities.
However, there is evidence that platforms continue to host false and harmful advertising, the authors of the report deplore.
"This suggests that platforms have difficulties adhering to their own published standards and public commitments on preventing the proliferation of dangerous coronavirus-related disinformation", they analyse, "despite allocating significant resources to this task". (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)