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ONE OF THE things that marks the novel coronavirus out as being different from other illnesses is the speed at which information about it has been spreading.
Or, in many cases, misinformation.
WhatsApp messages, videos, memes, Facebook posts and tweets which make claims about the virus being found in Ireland have been shared widely, particularly in the past week.
It’s likely that you’ve seen an example by now: maybe it was a video showing people in full-body protective clothing entering a building, with a caption saying that there was a confirmed Irish case.
Or maybe it was a WhatsApp message, like this one, which claims that the virus is in the country:
The message is often similar: it says that a case has been confirmed, or is about to be confirmed. It names a specific hospital. It seems to come from an authoritative-sounding source: a friend of the person who sent it whose brother is a garda, for example.
It will probably sound believable.
But while some of them may have nuggets of truth, they’re often sowing misinformation and adding to the at-times cloudy conversation about coronavirus.
“I get texts on a regular basis saying ‘X hospital is in lockdown. The coronavirus is here’. Not true,” Minister for Health Simon Harris said on Today With Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One this morning.
As of right now, more than 100 people have been tested for the novel coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland. None of them have turned out to be cases of Covid-19.
This is not to say that there won’t be a case. Simon Harris said last night that the government has been planning for a case since January, while Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said at a briefing this morning that it is anticipated that a case will be confirmed in the Republic of Ireland.
“We think it’s likely that another case or cases could be imported into this country, like it was in Northern Ireland,” Holohan told reporters.
But every suspected case so far where the results have come back has turned out not to be Covid-19.
The spreading of these “murky, half-facts” can create mistrust and anxiety, says Ciaran O’Connor of Storyful, a leading social media news agency.
“It contributes to mistrust of public institutions like government and health services,” he toldTheJournal.ie.
“Trust in institutions has been decreasing year on year for some time now and this was before social media. If there is an outbreak, then such skepticism – of institutions, of possible vaccines, of entering public places like supermarkets – only furthers the problem.”
TheJournal.ie has been looking out for claims to debunk, as part of our FactCheck project. Here are some of the claims being shared around Ireland right now.
Video of a hotel on Pearse Street in Dublin
There are no numbers available to measure how often something is shared on WhatsApp, but judging solely by how many times this one video has been sent in to TheJournal.ie‘s newsroom over the past 24 hours, this has been widely shared in Ireland.
The video is extremely short – it’s just four seconds long. It starts by showing some lines on a road before the camera pans up and shows a person in white full-body protective clothing walking into a building with two large glass double doors and a glass awning.
In the final second, the camera pans to the right where an ambulance is parked close to where the person in the white outfit is walking.
The text accompanying the video has generally identified it as being a named hotel on Pearse Street in Dublin’s city centre, and says that there has been a case of coronavirus in the building. Some versions of it say that it was taken by a garda. Others say that the hotel is now in lockdown.
But while this video may be showing precautionary measures being taken – and that is not known either – there is no evidence that it shows an actual case of coronavirus being investigated or a suspected case.
The Department of Health is following World Health Organisation guidelines which say that all health workers should wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gowns and masks when dealing with potential cases of Covid 19, so if this was a suspected case, then that is what is happening. This means that it may become a common sight to see photos and videos being shared of medical staff wearing personal protective equpiment as potential cases are investigated.
Neither the HSE nor the Department of Health would comment – the Department said it will never speak about suspected cases – but Minister for Health Simon Harris appeared to reference the video on Today With Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One this morning.
“I’ve had a situation last night where many people sent me a Twitter video showing a hotel in Dublin locked down. Not true,” he said.
The premise of the video caption itself is wrong too: the building itself is not a hotel and it’s not on Pearse Street. It is in Dublin but it’s on the nearby Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
When contacted, two businesses based in the building did not respond, while a spokesperson for the hotel named in the video caption said that it had no cases of coronavirus and had no hotel on lockdown.
Perhaps the strongest indicator that the video does not show a real case of coronavirus though is to do with the timing. The video has been circulating for almost 48 hours now, if not longer, and the number of cases of coronavirus in Ireland remains at zero.
There have been other videos or photos like this shared before now. Similar imagery spread earlier this month in at least two instances at Dublin Airport where medical staff wearing protective clothing had to board planes where passengers had fallen ill.
The government’s approach to communication around the coronavirus is that it will only confirm any details when there is a real case, and will not say anything to confirm details, dates or locations of suspected cases where patients are tested. This is designed to prevent panic and the spread of misinformation; but in the absence of information, it also allows for videos like this to be spread.
No, there is no media blackout
This is something that comes up repeatedly in some of these WhatsApp messages: a case has been confirmed, or almost confirmed, in Ireland, but there is a media blackout which means it is not being covered.
A media blackout on anything is extremely rare in Ireland. Requests for the media not to cover an ongoing situation are occasionally issued by An Garda Siochána – such as in this case last week where a teenager was arrested by gardaí in Donegal after a 54-hour stand-off – but not by the government.
The media – both local and national – has been reporting on information given by State authorities alongside original stories, articles from news agencies, videos and podcasts about the spread of the virus since the first cases emerged in China.
For the past month, the Department of Health has been holding fairly frequent press briefings and releasing statements to the media with updates about the coronavirus.
The National Public Health Emergency Team has been meeting regularly, and a special Coronavirus Expert Advisory Group was formed, which is a multidisciplinary group with experts from differing specialities.
No journalist that TheJournal.ie spoke to had heard anything from authorities about a media blackout on this story. A number questioned what function such a blackout would serve, and how authorities would expect such a blackout to work.
There was one exception: on 25 February, an Irish Examiner journalist tweeted about a blackout, which was also tweeted from the newspaper’s main Twitter account. The reference to a media blackout was included in an article on the newspaper’s website.
The tweet referred to students from a school in Munster being assessed for coronavirus after returning from a trip to Italy and said: “Media Blackout ordered by authorities but full Story on @irishexaminer shortly”.
In the story, which remains viewable on the Irish Examiner website, one line says: “Senior sources have said that a ‘media blackout’ is being advised and the HSE, when contacted, offered no comment to our queries.”
There was no media blackout and there is no media blackout. The tweet and the mention in the article appear to be referring to the HSE’s refusal to comment when no case had been confirmed, coupled with a request from education authorities for the media not to cover details of the story.
“There is no media blackout on information surrounding Covid-19″, a spokesperson for the Department of Health told TheJournal.ie.
“The Department of Health does not comment on individual cases, or groups of cases, other than confirmed cases.”
Journalists had different responses when asked why some people claim there is a media blackout.
Gavan Reilly, political correspondent at Virgin Media News said that it could be to do with trust in the Irish health system.
“Because people are largely distrustful of the HSE or Irish health management, so when local officials encourage people not to become overly cautious – for legitimate fear of whipping up hysteria – people assume it’s the State being negligent [rather than] action based on expert advice,” said Reilly.
“It’s a strange self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Seán Defoe, group political correspondent for Communicorp. “People say there’s a media blackout to avoid panic, which just creates more panic.”
Outright false information
As well as the claims based in some truth, there are also messages being shared, frequently on WhatsApp, which have untrue information.
This one message which has been shared says that people should “take a few sips of water every 15 mins at least” to wash the virus into the stomach where stomach acid will kill it.
(Spoiler: this does not work).
There has been so much information on the internet about the coronavirus that the World Health Organisation has described it as an “infodemic” – and while some of the information is accurate, some is not.
Health professionals and the government have been directing people to the HSE’s website, which has details on symptoms of the coronavirus, how it is spread, and ways to protect yourself from it.
Definite cases in Dublin hospitals
Since the novel coronavirus began, email and messaging platforms like WhatsApp have been a source of repeated claims about how there has been a confirmed case in various named hospitals throughout the country.
So far, none of these have proven to be true. As mentioned above, more than 100 people have been tested for it in Ireland, but none of the tests have come back positive.
Some of these rumours may be based on suspected cases, as a result of other patients or hospital staff messaging people, but others appear to be not based in fact.
If and when there is a case in Ireland, it is likely that there will be an extremely short window between the test results coming back positive and the public being informed.
In Northern Ireland, for example, an email was sent out to the media at 6.10pm on Thursday night by the Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland about a media briefing which was to take place at 7pm – 50 minutes later – on a case which had been confirmed shortly before.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, the Department of Health said that it is “currently in a containment phase, both in Ireland and Europe”.
“This means that, irrespectively of case severity, all efforts are focused on identifying cases and their contacts early, in order to prevent further transmission (secondary spread,” the Department said.
“The focus for communication in the containment phase is raising awareness among the general public of the central role that the public plays in mitigating the risk and potential spread of the disease through hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and early notification of the onset of symptoms to their GP, should they occur,” it said.
“In line with these WHO best practice guidelines, no information will be provided about individual activations or about individual cases of Covid-19 other than confirmed cases.”
What can be done to prevent the spread of misinformation?
Social media platforms have acted relatively fast to promote accurate sources of information – and for good reason.
“If you search ‘coronavirus’ on Twitter, YouTube or TikTok, you’ll be given an external link for the HSE,” says Ciaran O’Connor of Storyful. “This is one way to counter the flow of bad information with good information.”
Facebook has released some new tools for its network of third-party factcheckers around the world to help factcheck misinformation being spread on its platform.
“Facebook announcing it plans to remove any posts that claim to promote a cure for the virus is helpful too,” says O’Connor. “Hopefully the implementation of this policy is effective.”
In the real world though, “gatekeepers at every level of society are important,” he says.
“Teachers in schools, university authorities, nurses and doctors, and politicians providing accurate information to their constituents are all essential to protect information.”
Have you gotten a message on WhatsApp or Facebook or Twitter about coronavirus that you’re not sure about and want us to check it out? Mail us and we’ll look into debunking it. WhatsApp us on 085 221 4696 or mail answers@thejournal.ie
TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.
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Then the Department of Health wonder where all the extra money goes they give hospitals. No accountability whatsoever, time for sweep out all these big, not for purpose entities.
Am i reading this right? One publicly funded agency, HSE, is giving our tax money to another publicly funded entity, UL, to set up a hypothetical private company with public taxes to hire workers who dont receive public benefits and neither the HSE or UL will account for how the money is being spent or why anyone hired should be hired without state benefits since they are being hired with our tax money.
@Ronan Murphy: No doubt Donnelly will soon tell us he is awaiting an external report on this.
The wonderful financial mismanagement of continuous FFG rule.
Another tax please?
@Roy Dowling: Ah that awl chestnut. That’s an easy line to throw out and implies that it’s wages from union agreements that have caused it to spiral. No substance behind that and you shouldn’t throw out lines like that if you don’t have a clue what you’re talking about!….. Do you really think it’s caused the HSE budget to jump from 13.3B in 2012 to 23.5b in 2024?!?! Total pay for the whole HSE in 2022 was 7.2B, of that non-clinical management/admin was €992.5m.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: I didn’t read it that way, I read it that the strong unions are preventing the removal of useless staff, changes to work practices etc not that the pay was too high.
I work in the public sector and see it there as well with managers and staff refusing to change work practices, refusing to do work delegated and actively sabotaging others work to try and get ahead.
I was surprised the recruitment firm couldn’t give a figure until I read that it’s a “not for profit public sector” recruitment firm. That explains it.
@Tom D: That’s a good one. Not for profit public sector recruitment firm.
@Tom D: well said Tom….” not for profit – say no more!!!
Obscene….. And not even for frontline staff!!!! No wonder the HSE budget has increased by around 10 billion in 12 years with this sort of spending. I’ll bet there’s some serious gouging here because it was a state contract!…… Another inquiry needed!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: RTE was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the waste and greed of our public sector, especially the management layers.
Hse has rte accounting issues, any chance of an independent audit.
The money was just resting in their accounts
Beyond joke!
Needs a full independent investigation. Employment rights being exploited. HSE and UL need to be held to account
the levels of mismanagement in the crooked Irish system are absolutely breathtaking
it needs to COLLAPSE
As the old saying says: The only place there isn’t a FIDDLE is in a BRASS BAND.
Cheap labour market, no training, paid 13 euros, serious breaches of the temp agency act under equal pay. Placing these agency staff in higher grades but paying the minimum, HSE staff on the panels then can’t access the full-time positions, both UL and uhl guilty of breach of employment rights and law. Another enquiry needed to show the full rot.
@Lourda Finn: Spot on, €14 Million in one particular year for placement of 1500 staff, something very rotten about those figures, someone is creaming it somewhere. The HSE is a corrupt organization, the constant requests for Work Permits for nurses, they have got rid of Irish nurses & are replacing them with cheap agency labour from India. The abuses of monies in the HSE are breathtaking, yet we are paying massive salaries to Stephen Donnelly, Robert Watt & Bernard Gloster, the 3 of them should be fired, along with all senior Executives.
no accountability Ireland, ceo’s, consultants and managers walk off into the sunset, with no consequences for their actions, while the Hse pay out billions in lawsuits during a recruitment freeze, it beggers belief…
Like with 2008 crash then again with the 2020 lockdown the slate should of been be wiped clean and started a fresh. But no our governments just gave a way more. We like a dripping tap needing a 10 cent washer but instead we give out multi million euro bucket contracts and then pay big salaries to a management team to look after them and then another to empty them.
Another scandal another day in Ireland
Yea that would be in keeping with the FFG in government, no shock or surprise, just tax the paye more when you start getting low in the coffers
@N D K: I would vote for any party whose sole policy was total reform of our public services, unfortunately there is no party even mentioning it. Our tax take should allow us to provide excellent services but in most areas they are shambolic (bar revenue of course, who are excellent).
All these public institutions needs to be looked into by a company the same as CAB,but not from Ireland,The Banks,HSE,Local County Councils,The planning department,Justice, civil servants,the parties in power,we need to find out since Trica.this isnt done nothing changes,if people have committed crimes,need to be dealt with the same as us,and if people r caught,they be made pay back,and lose the golden retirement.they know everything about us,when Covid came,in less than 2 weeks the revenue were able to put in place the Covid payment for the worker,if u want to draw stamps, make u wait weeks,if ur disabled,once off need payment,their refusing irish people,I think it’s coz their budget for the year,the foreigners r included in that,eff the Irish
Wow not suprised as HSE all over. Wonder what EX HSE manager is leading this UL company
If these bozos in the public sector ran businesses in the private sector, they be bankrupted after a month
UHL in the news again today for all the wrong reasons.
The midless billions that were and are being wasted by the HSE and the health boards of the past is just cringing to think about
…real money,tax payers money.
….we never really cracked how to run a health sevice
The fact that our population is gone up
50% in 30 years is a major contributing factor….I suppose
This is the new circular economy. HSE dumps a great wad of cash into UL, but they don’t know what, if anything, they might have gotten for it. Don’t ask UL, sure they’re no good with money. But it does enable UL to buy 20 houses for €13 million, despite the real value being €6 million, despite them being designated social housing and despite having no planning approval to be used as student accommodation.
Meanwhile, despite all these new hypothetical admin staff, Limerick hospital ED is like a continuous battle zone and is unfit for patients or the people who have to work there, and even the look of it is like some run-down Eastern block institution.
I love seeing journalists investigating the powerful!
I had this mad idea that that’s what they were supposed to do but when you look at a lot that passes for journalism it’s not there! Good article, keep ‘em coming!
Another UL corruption story. How deep does this rabbit hole go?
Utter madness.the fish rots from the head down.
That is rubbish, they have a payroll accounts system, does anyone know how to count the people on it.
Another RTE…. needs to be a serious inquiry into the goings on at the HSE.
@Steve Davis: in terms of the hse and misbehaviour, mishandling s by them compared to in rte (A politically biased, unethical broadcaster) id say its 200:3 in an approximate ratio. no wait, the hse is probably on 2 000 and rte 3
Time to stop hiring agency staff, and using private sector to fill public jobs, plenty of people in child care, and social care that could make great nurses, if points were reduced here, allowing many more to qualify. And train them like before, nurses don’t need degree courses, they just need empathy and care, and a decent wage. Most hospitals are run by reg staff, it’s a box ticking exercise when you go through A And E. Head injury have a ultrasound,
Break a leg have an ultrasound, crazy.
LOL
H.s.e cowboys couldn’t run a proverbial p—s up in a brewery.
have your say