Anti-fake news centre detects sharp rise in Covid-19 misinformation
An alarming rise in fake news during the Covid-19 outbreak has left authorities scrambling to tackle the problem.
The Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES) says it is now examining 6,411 posts of suspected misinformation, more than half of which are health-related.
Buddhipongse Punnakanta, DES minister, said people could pass on information about news they suspected was fraudulent to the ministry’s anti-fake news centre.
He also asked media to fight the proliferation of fake news by helping spread accurate information to the public, and announced plans to organise a workshop for his staff to combat the problem.
The anti-fake news centre has received more than 17 million (17,255,640) reports of misinformation since its launch on November 1 last year, said DES permanent secretary Ajarin Pattanapanchai. Of the posts reported, 18,479 were confirmed as fake news.
The centre is currently assessing another 6,411 reports – 3,539 related to health, 2,499 to government policy, 125 to disasters and 248 to the economy,
People can report suspected misinformation at https://www.antifakenewscenter.com, the Anti-Fake News Center Facebook page, Twitter @AfncThailand, Line @antifakenewscenter or the GCC 1111-87 hotline.
Reports are assessed by artificial intelligence, categorised, analysed and evaluated for context.
