How to get correct information about the Swine Flu? Well looks like the use of Twitter is not the proper way to get true information about this virus.
Media have informed that Twitter has become a misinformation site in terms of informing latest news about the Swine Flu. The dissemination of misinformation has created panic among its users and others non Twitter users.
“This is a good example of why [Twitter is] headed in that wrong direction, because it’s just propagating fear amongst people as opposed to seeking actual solutions or key information,” said Brennon Slattery, a contributing writer for PC World. “The swine flu thing came really at the crux of a media revolution.”
Internet users and others can get proper information off the Swine Flu in web sites like:
(WHO) World Health Organization http://www.who.int/en/
(CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/
Unofficial swine flu information on Twitter may lead people to unwise decisions, said Evgeny Morozov, a fellow at the Open Society Institute and a blogger on ForeignPolicy.com. Morozov said that twitter users told their followers to stop eating pork, he said. Health officials have not advised that precaution.
Morozov said there’s incentive for Twitter users to post whatever is on their mind because it helps them grow their online audiences. This kind of information from people that wants to write about their own fears about the symptoms and the widespread deaths, can create an uninformed hysteria.
Twitter traffic about swine flu has been strong. According to Nielsen Online, swine flu has worked its way into about 2 percent of all notes posted on the site on Monday. You can follow that Twitter conversation here.
Chatter about swine flu is also loud elsewhere online. About 10 times more people are writing online about swine flu than wrote about the salmonella and peanut butter scares from this winter, Nielsen says.
If you still want to trust in the information that you get from Twitter, try the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Twitter account. They have official information about the Swine Flu. http://twitter.com/CDCemergency
