A surge of skelms and fake news spreaders during Covid-19 pandemic – The Wall Street Journal

At a moment when there are global scarcities for items as diverse as toilet paper and ventilators, Mr. Duke offers something else in short supply: fact checking.

Published on:

01 Apr 2020, 2:46 pm

The current pandemic offers so many stories of people who go out of their way to help others and it does make many of us feel that we are part of humanity and are all in this together. But it has also brought out the worst in some people as they hoard a king's ransom of toilet paper and there are scammers and fraudsters who are circling and are trying to capitalise on the pandemic. In the United Kingdom, hackers broke into computers at Hammersmith Medicines Research, a London-based company that carries out clinical trials for new medicines. They used encryption to lock down thousands of the company's patient records and threatened to publish them online if a ransom wasn't paid. Also in the UK, doctors and nurses in some areas have been instructed not wear their uniforms away from hospitals as there have been attacks on staff of the National Health Service for their badges as it enables them to get easier access to food and shopping, and many places offer them free and discounted food. In South Africa, the Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA) has warned members that there are online fraud scams as shoppers have taken to online-shopping during the lockdown with criminals creating fake Facebook pages using the name of established companies. The latest includes Claremart Auctioneers, Park Village and Rose-Innes Auctions. Buyers are given the option to reserve a vehicle with a deposit in a bogus online auction. Social media companies, who were up to now engaged in trying to stem the flow of fake news on a variety of subjects, have all turned their attention to stop fake news on the coronavirus. As many people now feel particularly vulnerable, they have become more willing to believe fake news and the fake news brigade and scammers are cranking up their operations to pounce on this. The Wall Street Journal reports that the companies supporting Facebook to spot fake news are "maxxed out"– Linda van Tilburg