It seems as though misinformation about the dreaded coronavirus is in its own way contagious.

It’s easy to hit share or ‘retweet’ or to even send a quick factoid you read about the virus to someone else and the temptation is just as understandable but spreading this fake news doesn’t help anyone and only scares people even more.

Many of the people who share these hoaxes and false information don’t do it to mislead – they think they’re sharing some truly valuable information with their family and friends.

From checking sources to verifying accounts, here are a few steps you can take to spot fake news and verify information correctly before you decide to share it.

REMEMBER: If you see someone on social media posting something that isn’t true, be gentle and kind when informing them or pointing it out. Correcting information that is false can sometimes backfire. People are likely to be defensive when they’re challenged so always make sure you’re kind during this tense moment.

Video sources

• BBC News 
• South China Morning Post 
• Video created on Canva