Liberia must fight its fake news epidemic to fight the pandemic

In a startling Afrobarometer survey earlier this year, 66% of Liberians said they are “unlikely” to try to get vaccinated against COVID-19. An even higher 86% said they believe “prayer is more effective than a vaccine in preventing coronavirus infection”. Much of these attitudes are due to fake news or misinformation. These problems are not new to Liberia, but there is no doubt they have escalated recently. The increase in internet penetration and social media use – particularly among younger urban dwellers – has allowed false information to spread further and faster than ever before. Meanwhile, two major events in 2020 saw enormous fake news campaigns. Continue reading...