A man from Cardiff who lost his parents and brother to Covid within seven days of each other has received abuse and death threats online after sharing his story. Francis Goncalves blames the misinformation and myths surrounding the Covid vaccine as one of the reasons why his family refused to take it. Goncalves launched a petition to eliminate anonymous online trolls after experiencing the harassment. He is requesting that people who sign up for social media accounts upload some sort of identification document, such as a passport, to make them easier to track.
Goncalves illustrates the dangers of misinformation about Covid vaccines. His brother passed away on 17 July, followed by his father three days later, and then his mother on 24 July. He is not the only one suffering from threats and taunts. Dr. Bnar Talabani, a clinical lecturer at Cardiff University, shares the same experience after using TikTok to spread the facts and disprove the myths that people have about the Covid vaccine. She also received a barrage of negative comments ranging from being accused of being paid to say certain things to threats of personal safety.
Dr. Giri Shanker, the director of health protection at Public Health Wales (PHW), stated that misinformation about Covid vaccines is “misleading people in the wrong way.” A PHW report in October found that misinformation has led to a reduction of vaccine uptake, resulting in access denial or delayed access to healthcare. It is crucial to target these groups of people with accurate information backed up by science to counteract the misinformation about Covid.
Goncalves’ tragic story highlights the importance of reliable information source to tackle the Covid pandemic. The UK government said that the Online Safety Act enforced social media to remove illegal content, including harassment and death threats, and remove the illegal misinformation as soon as they become aware of it. The misinformation surrounding the Covid vaccine is a growing challenge and emphasizes the importance of responsible use of social media
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