One of the most accessible and easiest ways to transmit relevant information is via the Internet; using social networking sites like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Wechat, etc. As a result, the active involvement of individuals in this age of media transition or the shift in media power from few to many, has widened the space for public opinion; thus providing an increase on societal influence. This was one major reason for the Arab revolution triggered by the Martyr Mohamed Bouazizi in 2011.
However, using social media like Whatsapp and Facebook to spread rumours has a huge challenge during an emergency situation. In Iowa for instance, the department of Public Health was forced to issue a statement dismissing social media rumours that Ebola had arrived in the state. There had also been continuous sharing of Facebook and Twitter posts expressing that Ebola can be spread through the air, water or food, which were incorrect. There is a huge risk for spreading rumours and misinformation. Retweeting and sharing posts can make the rumour spread very quickly and get out of control. This could lead to panic in a population which would not be justified by facts, but only spread through misinformation. “Rumors move much more quickly in the social media space than they would have otherwise,” says Barbara Reynolds, head of public affairs for the Center for Disease Control CDC. “People want information and one of the best things we can do is give them information in a way that they can take it in and manage their emotions.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa was the largest and most complex ever since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. As of March 2016, 11,316 people had died of the disease, out of a total number of 28,639 recorded cases, according to WHO. Most of the cases and deaths were recorded in the three Mano River Union countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There were fewer cases in other countries: Mali, Senegal, and Nigeria in Africa and the United States (U.S.), among others. In Sierra Leone alone, WHO says approximately 3,956 people died, out of a total of about 14,124 recorded cases. By the 12th October, 2014, the WHO reported that 123 Sierra Leonean health workers had been diagnosed with Ebola, with another 97 deaths.
It took the virus about two (2) years to leave the shores of Sierra Leone.Citizens using internet (Netizens) at home and abroad were using social media (Whatsapp and Facebook) to spread unconfirmed information about the Ebola scourge. That had led to panic, fear and stigmatization among affected citizens. One of the many factors that might have led to delay of the epidemic was the rumour that Ebola was not real; noting that the ruling government was trying to decrease the population in the strong hold of the main opposition, SLPP, where the epidemic first started – Kailahun district, eastern Sierra Leone.
On the 9th August 2014, around 3am, Sierra Leone was awakened by a rumour telling people to wash at midnight with salt water, as a cure for Ebola. That situation was so chaotic, that people were making phone calls, sending Whatsapp messages to family members and friends, prompting them to wash immediately with salt water at that hour of the night. On August 31st 2014, the country’s BBC correspondent posted on Facebook that, “Rumours! Lie! Stigmatization! They cannot STOP Ebola. So stop them to stop the deadly virus.”
Knowing the implications of spreading rumours among netizens in a country with high illiteracy rate, it was prudent to stop people from spreading unconfirmed information among one another in a health epidemic situation. It is evident that real time communication through social media like Facebook has the tendency to change the way crisis are managed and experienced by an affected population. In this global village, information can spread as fast as bullet using social media. This is because, social media have formed a new platform of information exchange; and these interactive flows of information are in the hands of millions of individuals, who are more robust to participate in risk communication directly affecting them. It is my viewthat such information can spread panic among especially the low literate people; and those issues of stigmatization and panic spreading especially on social media could make the already complicated fight against the epidemic become much more challenging.
The Head of Virology and Emerging Infections Department Associate Professor, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, USA, Dr. Daniel Bausch earlier encouraged citizens to dispel all false and negative rumours surrounding the Ebola outbreak. During period of crisis, situation gets worrisome especially when there is a hole in the dissemination of accurate information. “Fear has a role,” says Emilio Ferrara, a postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University’s center for Complex Networks and Systems Research. “If I read something that leverages my fears, my judgement would be obfuscated, and I could be more prone to spread facts that are obviously wrong under the pressure of these feelings.” So quick accurate information spread as widely as possible, experts say, is the only way to fight the spread of inaccuracies.
The lack of proper health education on precaution and prevention control in a country like Sierra Leone will make it challenging whenever there is a crisis situation or an outburst of an infectious disease. As a result, raising awareness of the risk factors for infection can be a better way to minimize human infection and consequent deaths.It is significant to educate the public on the use and risks of social media like Whatsapp and Facebook. Communications campaigns, school programmes, and other ideas could be developed to explain the risk of misinformation and rumours.
