Hoaxes have always existed, but with the same ease that they spread, we can dismantle them with little effort.
Hoaxes or "fake news" have always existed. They are not an invention of globalization or social networks, although modern social communication channels have helped their diversification and extension as never before known in the history of humanity.
History is plagued with "fake news" that still persists in the collective memory. Thus, for example, the so-called "Spanish flu" (more correctly "1918 flu") that devastated the world at the beginning of the 20th century (it is estimated that there were between 50 and 100 million deaths) was named so because Spain was the first state to offer statistics on the matter as well as, since the country was not involved in the First World War, the issue occupied greater attention in the national press as information about the disease was not especially censored, unlike what happened in most countries involved in the Great War.
Despite the fact that estimates speak of 300,000 deaths in Spain, it is a widely accepted fact by the scientific community to place the origin of the pandemic in the American military camps where the first cases were detected since December 1917 (Fort Greene), with the disease rapidly spreading to other military bases. It was precisely the American soldiers stationed in Europe during the Great War who contributed exponentially to spreading the disease throughout the world.
In case there are any doubts about the persistence of hoaxes throughout history, we can go back to antiquity and look at the supposed "arsonist" Nero, in classical Rome. In the popular imagination, fueled especially by cinematography, Nero has remained as a "disturbed emperor, with curly hair who mistreated the lyre without compassion" in addition to, of course, having razed Rome to the ground in 64 AD by setting it on fire. Without going into evaluations about the figure of Nero, what is clear is that not only has archeology shown that the fire was accidental, but historical studies indicate that Nero was not even in Rome that day. Sources place him in Antium (present-day Anzio) more than 60 kilometers from Rome, which, for the time, was no joke.
And so we could continue ad nauseam pointing out surprising historical "fake news" that have been maintained as immutable truths over time and that, even today, are an ingrained part of the collective imagination.
Hoaxes, as a rule, are not fortuitous or aseptic. Although in many cases they could be considered the product of the deformation of the original facts (if there were any) suffered over the centuries in their oral or written transmission, frequently and more so in contemporary times, behind the "fake news" there are usually hidden dark religious, political and/or economic interests.
Although as we say, they have always existed, it is evident that hoaxes increase, to unsuspected limits, in critical times such as those we have had to live with the health alert and the general confinement decreed by COVID-19. And it is precisely in these "expansive" moments of hoaxes when we must put more care and, why not say it, responsibility, on our part to avoid their extension. Together we can avoid increasing the state of misinformation and anxiety of our fellow citizens as long as we propose it. Let's apply in this matter the healthy collective idea that has become so fashionable in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, that is? "We will stop this virus together".
As we said in the initial quote, hoaxes can be "dismantled" with some ease. For this, there are specialized pages on the Internet to check and deny "fake news". Among them and just to mention a few, we find Newtral, Maldita.es or Saludsinbulos, very opportune in the current circumstances. However, perhaps the most effective way to avoid the spread of hoaxes is to appeal to collective intelligence. As long as we adopt a "proactive" attitude regarding the barrage of information we receive through countless means, we can decisively contribute to avoiding the spread of hoaxes. In this sense and without being exhaustive, perhaps some recommendations dictated by mere common sense would fit:
Without needing to become unrepentant disbelievers, adopt a position of cautious skepticism towards the information we receive. It is not necessary to question everything but certainly those "news" that especially catch our attention for their sensationalism or excessive alarmism.
Abandon the tendency to believe in bland and boring "conspiracy theories" so fashionable in some "sensationalist" television channels. Let's go, to understand each other, that the Earth is not flat, the human being has stepped on the Moon, the pyramids were not built by Martians and Elvis Presley did not simulate his death to take refuge in some golden retreat.
Always remember that although the saying says that "reality surpasses fiction", in most cases this is not the case. If a news or a message, in the first instance, seems alarmist or excessively surprising, there will be quite a few probabilities that, simply, it is not true.
Avoid compulsively sharing or forwarding and without prior reflection (however minimal) the messages that reach us, no matter how "good source" we consider their sender.
Remember that social networks (including WhatsApp and similar means) are not properly "means of communication" in an informative sense. Rather, they should be considered as means of transmission of information which, if necessary, must be verified with reliable sources.
Contrast suspicious information with reliable sources, whether official, journalistic or other that we consider, precisely, reliable, assuming that among these we discard media such as "okdiario" and similar and that we are clear that "El Mundo Today" is a humorous publication as its own heading ("The news of tomorrow") points out. Sometimes, the question is as simple as performing a simple search on Google.
And when in doubt, simply avoid "biting" in forwarding, sharing or whatever corresponds. It's that simple.
Shall we get to it?
Fernando Pellicer Melo is a teacher and holds a degree in History.
