JOIN USStop spreading slander sickness
I recently received a video on Whatsapp. It showed a man of authority announcing restrictions on public gatherings. Schools and colleges would be closed, he declared, as well as malls, gyms, theatres and restaurants. As soon as I received this alarming alert, I sent it to my friends. They communicated it to others who, in turn, proceeded to warn their contacts about what lay ahead.
We eventually discovered that the video was an old one. At the onset of Covid-19, our state government had swung into action, introducing several measures to contain it. While the virus had by no means vanished, the guidelines in place did not include those we had just heard. By the time we realised that the video clip was outdated, it had been widely circulated and created confusion.
Misinformation regarding likely lockdowns has been doing the rounds for over a year, not to mention fictitious reports about the pandemic that necessitates such precautions. People are quick to share messages, without pausing a moment to check their authenticity.
This regrettable propensity is not confined to coronavirus concerns. Every now and then, we hear that a celebrity has passed away. We are eager to tell others the news, only to find that the person, who may be unwell, still dwells in the land of the living. More reprehensible is ruining someone’s reputation through talking and texting. Even when the truth of a delicate matter is not fully known, grapevine gossip travels fast, doing untold damage. No smoke without fire, perhaps, but why fan the flames?
The second part of Shakespeare’s play, ‘Henry IV’, features an unpleasant character called Rumour. He is, we are told (appropriately enough), ‘painted all over with tongues’. Rumour intends to maliciously misrepresent the outcome of a decisive battle. While most forwarded falsehoods cause harm of some sort, vilification going viral is particularly dangerous. Just as we would try to halt the transmission of any deadly disease, let us stop spreading slander sickness!