Crushing the novel coronavirus rumors

An older woman in Shanghai who loved reposting unverified information about COVID-19 inspired the setting up of a team to set the public straight on online rumors about the virus.

Li Lei, founder of the Yishe Cultural Development Center for Public Good, a nonprofit organization that focuses on community governance, launched the online program in January.

His team has reached more than 500,000 people over the past five months and dispelled rumors surrounding the outbreak, especially those emanating from elderly people.

"I was busy refuting rumors my mother-in-law had heard, and it occurred to me that there were a lot more senior people inexperienced in using the internet who needed authentic information," he said.

The 35-year-old recruited about 20 volunteers online, including illustrators, art teachers, high school students and white-collar workers to counter the rumors and speculation.

At 8 am every day, Li would have a video conference with team members about the topic of the day. They tracked misinformation that was being widely spread and corrected it by verifying the truth with the authorities. They began creating illustrations using the verified information to get the message across with simple visual images.

The topics they covered included the proper use of face masks, the need for self-isolation at home and other knowledge to prevent getting COVID-19.

"At first, all kinds of information exploded on the internet, making people excessively worried and fearful," Li said. "Under those conditions it was hard to discern what was correct.

"Some information was interpreted out of context, while in other instances two stories were combined into one. Some information was fabricated to spread panic on purpose."

Li said his team members tried their best to make the illustrations concise and easy to understand as the elderly and the young were their intended audiences.

"We packed nine illustrations into one picture, which contained accurate information and was convenient for people to share on WeChat," Li said.

Volunteers distributed the illustrations in their WeChat groups to friends, family members, communities, classmates and colleagues. The recipients, in turn, passed the illustrations on to other WeChat groups.

Li also sent the illustrations for publication to media outlets like Jiefang Daily in Shanghai to reach more people.

As the central government started regular news conferences to clarify facts about the epidemic, Li and his group stopped their online efforts.

"At the end of the day, the epidemic will go and I hope that the team of rumor crushers will no longer be needed," he said.