“Wholly untrue”: UNICEF slams weird and dangerous coronavirus advice
As coronavirus panic levels continue to heighten, fake tips on how to avoid catching the disease are circulating wildly on social media.
Social media platforms are full of advice on how to avoid catching coronavirus, but many of them are untrue.
Humanitarian organisation UNICEF was forced to issue a statement after the organisation was linked to advice urging people to stop eating ice cream.
“A recent erroneous online message circulating in several languages around the world and purporting to be a UNICEF communication appears to indicate, among other things, that avoiding ice cream and other cold foods can help prevent the onset of the disease. This is, of course, wholly untrue,” the organisation slammed in a statement.
“To the creators of such falsehoods, we offer a simple message: STOP. Sharing inaccurate information and attempting to imbue it with authority by misappropriating the names of those in a position of trust is dangerous and wrong.
“To members of the public, we ask that you seek accurate information about how to keep yourself and your family safe from verified sources, such as UNICEF or WHO, government health officials and trusted healthcare professionals; and that you refrain from sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources.”
The organisation also urged people to avoid sharing information from untrustworthy sources.
“It can be difficult in today’s information-rich society to know exactly where to go for knowledge about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe,” UNICEF partnerships deputy executive director Charlotte Petri Gornitzka said.
“But it is critical that we remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information we share as we are about every other precaution we take to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”
Other odd tips that have gone viral include advising people to keep their mouth and throat moist so that “even if the virus gets into your mouth, drinking water and other liquids will wash them down your oesophagus and into the stomach” as well as keeping your indoor temperature above 20c so that coronavirus doesn’t spread any further.