#COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic

As a global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic spills into cyberspace, the world is grappling with an information explosion on social media. In our hyper-connected lives, the “infodemic” ignites fear and confusion in the real world.    An unprecedented wave of misinformation is driving discrimination against Asian-looking people. Viral fake remedies online come with deadly consequences. Social media posts of panic buying fuel more stockpiling, depriving essential supplies from those who need it most.    But the cyberspace also empowers people to harness the internet as a force for good, galvanising powerful movements to help those affected with a click of the mouse.    We explore how social media has helped or hurt our fight against this new coronavirus and ask, which is the mightier enemy – the pandemic or the “infodemic”?