The Coronavirus Disinformation System: How It Works

Besides viruses, what else is terribly contagious? Lies, of course.

As the coronavirus pandemic engulfs the world, disinformation associated with the virus has taken on many forms. Whether it’s your uncle sending you a Tom Hanks meme at 4 a.m. or the current occupant of the White House lying about Barack Obama supposedly harming the CDC’s testing system — disinformation in a time like this only adds confusion to an already palpable sense of fear.

Together with Newsy, Bellingcat — and, specifically, Bellingcat investigator Robert Evans — help you categorize the kinds of lies that are being pushed about the pandemic right now.

Why is this important? Because even seemingly “harmless” disinformation normalizes the distortion of reality, with potentially deadly consequences.

Note: Earlier this month, the Newsy + Bellingcat team won the prestigious Scripps Howard Award for Innovation.