The Quint’s Newsletter: The Need of The Hour
We all know by now that fake news can be dangerous. And so, we are here to help!
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The world has now surged past 15 million COVID-19 cases, with the US, Brazil, and India leading the charts.
What’s affirmative, if you may consider, is that all affected countries have ramped up testing. US President Donald Trump went as far as to say that America was “leading the world” in terms of COVID-19 testing — with India at the second place.
Arguably, just the number of tests conducted is not a valid measure of taking the “lead” in controlling the COVID-19 crisis. In order to monitor the pandemic, the number of cases and tests conducted, in relation to the country’s population, must be studied. To understand the full picture, read The Quint's fact-check of Trump's claims.
Fact-checking is the need of the hour — and it doesn’t stop at an unsubstantiated claim by a world leader.
A new study by two MIT researchers has found some disturbing trends. In India, nearly 13 percent of the images that are circulated on public-political WhatsApp groups peddle misinformation. This study was conducted between the end of 2018 and mid-2019 — a period that included events like the terror attack in Pulwama, the Balakot airstrike, and the Lok Sabha elections.
The Quint’s WebQoof team has debunked various images in the past where either old pictures were used out of context to spread misinformation, memes were passed off as news, or photoshopped images were circulated during major events like the India-China standoff, anti-CAA protests, Ayodhya verdict, and the abrogation of Article 370.
We all know by now that fake news can be dangerous. And so, we are here to help! If you’re not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified, send us the details on WhatsApp at +919643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we’ll fact-check it for you.
And, before you go, we are bringing you a chance to attend a webinar with India’s leading fact-checkers. To brave the onslaught of fake news during the pandemic, learn from those who are leading the fight against disinformation. Register here.
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