Photo taken on Sept. 22, 2015, shows the north facade of the Secretariat building, and west facade of the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned against "a dangerous epidemic of misinformation" regarding COVID-19, noting that trust in science is vital.
In his video message, Guterres said that "as the world fights the deadly COVID-19 pandemic - the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War - we are also seeing another epidemic, a dangerous epidemic of misinformation."
"Around the world, people are scared. They want to know what to do and where to turn for advice," he said.
"This is a time for science and solidarity," said the secretary-general. "Yet the global 'misinfo-demic' is spreading."
He said the international community should guard against "harmful health advice and snake-oil solutions," noting they are "proliferating."
"Falsehoods are filling the airwaves," the UN chief noted.
"Wild conspiracy theories are infecting the Internet. Hatred is going viral, stigmatizing and vilifying people and groups," he said, urging the world to unite against this disease.
"The vaccine is trust," he said.
The secretary-general called on the global community to trust in science, noting that he solutes the journalists and others fact-checking "the mountain of misleading stories and social media posts."
"Social media companies must do more to root out hate and harmful assertions about COVID-19," he said.
He also urged the international community to trust in institutions, which are "grounded in responsive, responsible, evidence-based governance and leadership."
Asking all people to trust in each other, he said that "mutual respect and upholding human rights must be our compass in navigating this crisis."
"Together, let's reject the lies and nonsense out there," said the UN chief.
"Today, I am announcing a new United Nations communications response initiative to flood the Internet with facts and science while countering the growing scourge of misinformation, a poison that is putting even more lives at risk," he said.
"With common cause for common sense and facts, we can defeat COVID-19 - and build a healthier, more equitable, just and resilient world," Guterres said.
