Can you remember raising a glass to the new decade at midnight on December 31?
If you are unaware of this by now, then you must be living under a rock (which, actually, would be a safe space right now).
There are many reasons the coronavirus (Covid-19) is scary, but the single scariest of all is the scale of it. We’ve always “lived in our own worlds”, come to think of it. We plod on in our own little spaces on this planet, not really too concerned with our neighbours, let alone neighbouring countries.
Yes, things do happen over the span of any year which we didn’t see coming – retrenchment, death in the family, illness and on a broader scale, devastating natural disasters and even plane crashes and horrors like the Australian and Amazon fires. We process the disasters which hit close to home as best we can and continue with life; giving brief pause to those which aren’t that close to home.
But there is no flicking over or moving on swiftly from Covid-19. It is in the very heart of our households, our offices, our churches, our shopping malls, our schools, our local doctor’s rooms, our restaurants – everywhere we live, work and play in our local community is affected.
The theories abound, fake news is rife and there are even naysayers who believe it’s all a lot of nonsense. That’s human nature, I guess – in time of crisis (or not) everyone’s an “expert”. There will be no satisfying every appetite for information at this point in time; people will always believe and cling to what they want to believe.
Let’s also not forget that the infamous “they” know everything – “they” say this and “they” say that. Who are “they”?
Nobody knows, but what “they” say is law.
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The media is somewhere in the “they” category, and what I can’t stand at the moment is this blanket approach to “us” spreading fake news and panic.
Any journalist, editor or media house worth their salt, will be using this pandemic to bolster their reputations as trusted news sources, not destroy every ounce of self-respect they have.
Not only now, but always, be careful about where you source your news and please, please, read reports properly before taking the “everyone is entitled to my opinion” route on social media.
This is our stance on Covid-19 and fake news: Coronavirus reporting throughout the Caxton Local Media stable of newspapers aims to combat fake news.
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments.
As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as fake news) is circulating online.
Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol.
A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
