LEGAZPI CITY — The social media giant Facebook has again shown itself to be a tool for a dangerous type of misinformation as false reports about the deadly novel coronavirus (nCoV) spreading on the platform caused alarm among netizens and residents here on Thursday (Jan. 30).
The Facebook posts claimed a Chinese visitor of the city went to a clinic at a mall for checkup because of sore throat, a symptom of nCoV.
It claimed that the Chinese, while waiting to be attended to by doctors, left hastily for a still unknown reason. The false posts also said the Chinese woman had been staying at a hotel in the city for the last three days.
This prompted the clinic to issue a statement to deny the reports. It gave assurances that the clinic has protocol for handling patients with nCoV that would not endanger other people.
The statement said the clinic was coordinating with the Department of Health in Bicol and will call for a press conference on Friday (Jan. 31).