Let's fight 'Infodemic'

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to highlight the message on fake news providing through the cartoons # Check The Fake on #COVID-19. The movement was mainly based on two characters – Pandemic and Infodemic and their conversations providing different information on fake news in one conversation. The one-month campaign was launched by non-profit educational and research organization Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust has #CheckTheFake to combat this Infodemic through sanitizing the minds of people, mentioned about it by Ankuran Dutta, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University in his interview. It is a very commendable step taken to spread the information about the effects of fake news among the common people. Lots of rumours are circulating on COVID-19, after receiving them the common people are panicking. During this crisis period, giving the messages through cartoons is a very good initiative. It was published continuously from April 1, the first one where corona talked about celebrating April fool, while Infodemic talked about making fool society everyday by fake news. Then it also talked about poisoning the social media, about while spreading the virus it doesn't look for any religion and sharing millions of fake news in the world. The cartoons of #Check The Fake on #COVID-19 also asked to encourage the frontline warriors and to discourage the fake news. It's because the superstitions will only demotivate them. On 30th April the cartoon series on # check the Fake came to an end with its last cartoon highlighting "all is well that ends well, but surely not the way this pandemic is going to end. Because, this pandemic has already left behind a series of misinformation into a new avatar called #Infodemic." To improve the media literacy among people and also make aware the people against fake news, indeed, a good step through cartoon. It will also alert the children; as well as any generation about fake news. Again the NCSTC in association with Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust (ARMT), an educational and research organization, has brought out multimedia guide carrying important information on A-to-Z of COVID-19, titled COVID Katha – A Multimedia Guide for Mass Awareness." Union Health and Science & Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the multimedia guide titled COVID Katha on the occasion of 49th foundation day of DST, Government of India.

Priyanka Deka,

Noonmati, Guwahati 

Also Read: Assam's Dhubri becomes 'Green Zone': What You need to Know