1st Edition 2020 | Page 85

Donald Trump (above) caused an uproar among the public after his suggestion to ingest disinfectants to get rid of COVID-19. As a matter of fact, many health experts around the world state that washing hands in plain soap and water for at least 20 seconds is the best way to get your hands clean in most situations. Another common myth that seems somewhat believable compared to others is that gargling salt water can kill the coronavirus. This claim was later refuted by the same experts they were refuted to, as the coronavirus settles in the respiratory tract and cannot be cleaned out by rinsing the mouth. On the other hand, many nonsensical and outrageous “remedies” and “cures” have been recommended by internet trolls, self-proclaimed medical experts and wellness gurus that somehow were eaten up by gullible individuals even though no scientific evidence even exists to back up their claims. Some of the alternative medicines and prevention advice pushed onto people by these ‘experts’ include using a mixture of addictive substances including nicotine and cocaine as a vaccine, wearing an antiviral pendant, and even smearing cow feces on your body. One politician in India has even advocated a “cure” to COVID-19 by drinking Indian cow urine despite local scientists’ refutation which states that there is no evidence that cow excrement has any antiviral effects. Some have even taken advantage of the pandemic situation to peddle their faith and religion to people. One such American televangelist, Kenneth Copeland, urged his followers to touch their televisions to get “vaccinated” from the virus. SASARAN EDISI 82 85 Despite the influx of misinformation being an ongoing problem during the pandemic, there is a silver lining in all of this. That silver lining being that this explosion of pseudoscientific information has set off a movement of sorts consisting of fact-checkers and debunkers of these bits of misinformation. Pseudoscience has always been a problem within society long before the pandemic and was around before the internet even existed to begin with. The dissemination of pseudoscientific information has plagued the world for centuries if not decades now, but it would be no exaggeration to say that this issue is being tackled even more seriously than ever before. Health experts and regulators have