Highlights
- Fake news, myths, conspiracy theories on social media raised vaccine hestitancy amongst African communities
- Job of frontline workers became tougher due to misinformation on racial, cultural, religious grounds
- Social media influencers from African communities made videos to convince people to take the jab
With over 70 per cent of Australia’s population aged 16+ fully vaccinated, it appears the country is well-prepared to reopen its international borders soon even though the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to endanger many parts of the world.
It has been a long and arduous road convincing people about the benefits of the vaccine and dispelling the myths around them, particularly for those from migrant backgrounds.
In the age of social media, misinformation spreads at a pace that can become difficult to surmount. This has been particularly true during the pandemic.
As the pandemic spread to Australia, so did the misinformation, including conspiracy theories.
With social media being a popular source of information for many in the African community, the line between fact and fiction was blurred for some.
Experience, race and religious beliefs made the task of fighting social media misinformation harder for those on the frontline. Providing reliable information validated by experts was an added challenge.
Said Farah aka Madaale, a Melbourne-based YouTuber, was part of a social media campaign within the Somali community aimed at raising awareness regarding vaccines.
His video of young Somali-Australian healthcare professionals pleading with members of the community to heed the public health advice was seen by thousands on YouTube.
“COVID-19 is real. Asalamalaikum, my name is Zamzam and I am a paediatric nurse and one of the many Somali healthcare professionals working on the frontlines during this pandemic. This message comes to you with great importance, we wish to advocate for and inform our community about the risk that COVID poses to us,” says a nurse in the video.
Cultural norms and traditions made the task of addressing misinformation hard for people like Mr Farah.
Somali-Australian Heath Workers raising awareness about coronavirus Source: Madaale Production
He says Somalis are a very tight-knit community, which is "normally a good trait to have", but during the pandemic, "it has become a problem" as people find it difficult to heed the public health advice to socially distance and isolate.
Some people had the tendency, or they felt like it was a good idea to go and visit others. So, it was difficult to get people to stay away from each other
Mr Farah adds that when vaccines arrived in Australia, the fear was such that many members of the community left the country to avoid being forced to vaccinate.
“I know people who moved out, or at least, travelled overseas because they were afraid they might be injected with the vaccine against their will,” he says.
African-Australian journalists who covered the pandemic and vaccine rollout, say experiences and race have always been part of the narrative when it comes to spreading misinformation.
At the start, when the pandemic hit countries like the United States, people started to falsely claim that black people wouldn’t catch this disease. But when it emerged that African-Americans were hit hard, the misinformation shifted to claims of black people being targeted with this disease.
David Chiengkou, the Executive Producer of SBS Dinka, shares his understanding of this misinformation campaign.
He says to navigate a sea of misinformation, he had to come up with a counter strategy and talk to people affected by the disease and also with health professionals as fake news spread faster than the pandemic itself.
“That meant talking to the patients – people who have actually victims of COVID-19. The second part was also to talk to experts and provide any other alternative, any available information,” he says.
As Mr Chiengkou fought the misinformation with reliable news, he tested positive to COVID himself.
David Chiengkou - SBS Dinka Executive producer. Source: Abby Dinham
“While trying to inform the community, you fear catching the virus and hence feel more concerned being a father and a husband. The stress and trauma of the story you are telling, sometimes very devastating, and I think that’s what a lot of journalists struggled with,” he elaborates.
He says misinformation delayed people from getting vaccinated, which made older cohorts of the community and women more vulnerable to conspiracy theories.
Mr Chiengkou has heard "outlandish and wild claims" about the vaccines and COVID-19.
One myth was, 'a newborn who started speaking immediately, said if you drink tea without sugar, the disease will go away’
Also, the false belief that if you have suffered from disease back in Africa, you become immune to COVID-19, was a narrative spread on social media as was the efficacy of traditional remedies in treating the virus.
Frank Mtao is a Producer at SBS Swahili. He says some religious leaders also discouraged people from getting vaccinated.
“There are leaders, especially some religious leaders, trying to tell them it's no good,” he says.
NSW Health has expanded its vaccine rollout to encompass new priority groups. Source: Getty Images North America
Mr Mtao says the best way to debunk vaccine myths and misinformation is to have consistent public messaging.
“When the pandemic started, you got one type of message. At another stage, you got another,” he adds emphasising the confusion amongst people emerging from varying messages.
Dr Wubshet Tesfaye, is a research fellow at Canberra University.
He says misinformation can be harmful and lead to an attitude of complacency.
“One of the contributing factors to this is the availability of unprecedented information. The inaccurate information presented by the [news] media, social media, politicians, influencers and traditional medicine practitioners, is another factor contributing to misinformation,” he says.
He adds there are clear examples of wrong information costing some people their lives.
“For example, in Iran, hundreds of people died after drinking methanol as a cure for coronavirus. Following [former US] president Donald Trump’s suggestion that hydroxychloroquine was a “magic drug”, some people in the United States, Europe and Nigeria were influenced,” Dr Tesfaye elaborates.
The efforts to combat misinformation in Australia seem to have helped as is evident by the current percentage of the vaccinated population.
As lockdowns ease across the country, life is progressing into a new normal, a life with — or beyond — COVID.
Produced in collaboration with SBS Tigrinya, SBS Dinka, SBS Swahili and SBS Amharic.
