Coronavirus: Tips to stop the spread of misinformation

Listen to the recording and split the script below into sentences. Put punctuation marks
where necessary. Try to divide the script into paragraphs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYsoH7Fiqbw

In the midst of the corona virus pandemic passing on information can feel like one way we
can support our families and friends here at the BBC we are working very hard to make sure
that everything we broadcast and publish is accurate and up-to-date but there is a whole load
of information out there that isn't and misinformation can spread fast if a message is sent to a
whatsapp group of 20 then each of them shares it with 20 other people and this happens five
times it can reach more than three million people very quickly untruths can take many forms
one of the most common we're seeing is copied and pasted messages being passed around
on whatsapp or in facebook groups containing bad advice or fake cures and because these
are shared by a friend or trusted source it's not obvious who wrote these messages in the
first place often they're attributed to a vague source like a friend's friend who's a doctor
soldier or works with the government for example a voice note has been spreading on
whatsapp in it a woman is translating advice from a colleague who has a friend working at a
hospital on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria some of the tips are helpful such as washing
surfaces thoroughly but the voice memo includes misleading advice as well the speaker
suggests sunlight neutralizes the virus and that coronavirus can be killed by taking a sip of
warm water every 20 minutes there is no scientific basis for either of these claims if you're not
sure the whole post is true it might do more harm than good to share it and if the source isn't
easily identifiable or the story hasn't been reported elsewhere then it really is worth being
sceptical about it pictures taken out of context can also be really misleading a video from Italy
was posted on Twitter showing military vehicles on the streets there were rumors they were
responding to coronavirus riots in fact they were returning from routine exercises that had
nothing to do with the outbreak some of us may share information with our friends as a joke
or to lighten their mood but even if they don't take it seriously others might for example a
claim that lions were released in Russia to patrol the streets was taken seriously by some it
was not true we all want to share news that we think will help others but before you do follow
these steps has the story been reported anywhere else is it from a reliable source has the
photo or image been taken out of context if you're not sure then maybe it's fake and you can
stop that information from doing harm by not sharing it any further if you want to check
medical advice go on the World Health Organization website and if you feel that a story isn't
real you can always look to a reliable source like the BBC