Increase in COVID-19 related misinformation in midst of case spikes 

It’s not just Omicron that is spreading rapidly, but the misinformation regarding the same. The Gateway Pundit, a far-right website known for circulating conspiracy assumptions, circulated an article falsely contending that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had revoked permission for all PCR tests for COVID-19 detection. On Facebook and Twitter, the article received 22,000 likes, comments, and shares.

However, videos of at-home COVID-19 tests generating positive results after soaking in drinking water and juice are viral on TikTok and Instagram in recent weeks. Fueling the erroneous description that coronavirus rapid tests are useless. According to health experts, some household liquids can cause a positive test result, but the tests remain accurate when used as directed. At least 140,000 people shared a TikTok video of a home test that turns out positive after placing under running water.

The number of coronavirus related misinformation has heightened in recent weeks

The Canadian website Rebel News posted a video titled “Rapid antigen tests debunked” on YouTube on January 1. It received over 40,000 views, and the comments section was rife with misinformation. COVID-19-related misinformation according to researchers, the number of coronavirus tests has heightened in recent weeks. Due to the highly contagious omicron variant, which has resulted in a surge in coronavirus cases worldwide.

Misinformation certainly is jeopardizing public undertakings to keep the health crisis under control. Previous spikes in pandemic-related misinformation focused on vaccines, masks, and the virus’s severity. Falsehoods include: PCR tests do not work. Flu and COVID-19 cases amount to something that has been combined. PCR tests are vaccines in disguise. And at-home rapid tests have a predetermined result or are unreliable because different liquids can turn them positive.

These themes obtained thousands of comments in the final three months of 2021. Contrary to only a few dozen in the same period in 2020. The boosted pressure for testing due to omicron and the higher preponderance of breakthrough cases has contributed to misinformation purveyors with an “opportune moment” to manipulate. TikTok edged its operations that prohibit misinformation that could hurt people’s physical health. According to YouTube, the videos circulating are under evaluation by its COVID-19 misinformation policies on testing and diagnostics.

“Using a fluid with a different chemical makeup than what was designed means that result lines might appear unpredictably,” said Patriquin. Dr. Patriquin is an assistant professor of pathology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. Dr. Glenn Patriquin published a study about false positives in antigen tests. Using various liquids in a publication of the American Society for Microbiology. 

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