Social media under the scanner

Scaremongering COVID-19 posts

“Organise a steam week to stave off the threat posed by COVID-19 as the virus that spread the disease will get killed on inhaling steam at 70 degrees Celsius. This easy cure is known to the health authorities but they will not tell us,” goes a WhatsApp post in a group. As the second wave of the pandemic rages, the social media has once again gone berserk with forwards of all hues ranging from the personal experiences of the infected to doomsday predictions and unverified and unscientific cures. Seized of the potential pandemonium that social media can unleash during an atmosphere surcharged with the fear of the pandemic, the police are combing the virtual world for scaremongering and mischievous posts.