When the coronavirus first started attacking humans
all kinds of news began to spread rapidly.
The whole world panicked.
Almost no country was left in peace.
Most people were also afraid of this virus;
either because of the news that was spreading,
or because their family was infected.
And as predicted
from the many news articles and comments that spread
some reports provoked a reaction from people.
In fact, there was one rumor in particular
that spread that changed some people’s perspectives about 2020 completely.
Of course, it’s not something we can easily believe as the truth.
But if we think about it for a second
is it really possible that the coronavirus is a deliberate lie, created by a handful of people?
The short answer ... is not proven.
And of course, the impact of this virus is very real.
From famous people to ordinary citizens
people have become witnesses of this disease.
Maybe recently we’ve stopped paying attention to the number of cases.
But in fact, the worldwide cases have already reached
the tens of millions
and hundreds of thousands have become victims.
Crises in health, employment, finances, and even politics
are all jumbled together.
That’s why maybe the gravity of the problem is so huge
some are tempted to simplify it by saying it is the product of an elite evil organization.
We often forget that a big problem doesn't have to come
from a big cause.
It could be from a little cause
as little as a virus.
Some people might think the virus was made up by a handful of elites
who want to rule the world.
The question is:
is that right?
Simply put, no.
Scientists have proven,
the virus is not an artificial biological weapon.
To build a biological weapon
we need to copy the genetic material that makes up other existing viruses.
But this coronavirus is different.
The genetic material was unknown.
So, we can be sure that the virus isn’t a biological weapon.
However, this is just one of the many pieces of misinformation
out there.
How can we defeat them?
Of course, there is a way.
And you guessed it, it’s not easy.
Basically, our brain is
gullible.
Why? Imagine this
our brain is operated by two workers.
The first worker is always observing
and on standby mode at any time,
and the second worker is lazy and is only present
when we are concentrating.
Still confused?
Then try it yourself by analyzing this question.
"A bat and a ball cost Rp110.000 in total. The bat costs Rp100.000 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?"
Can you think of the answer?
Well, if you thought the answer is ten thousand
then your brain was just fooled.
How come?
Because of course
the answer is this.
Yes, our brains really like to respond to information quickly
without concentrating.
In other words, it was the first worker who’s usually present
without inviting the second one.
This makes us easily fooled when seeing hoaxes about anything
including coronavirus hoaxes.
If this is the case
then news with clickbait headlines would make sense at first glance
and after some time it becomes widespread.
Yes, hoaxes and conspiracy theories out there are
as common as salt in the ocean.
But try to think about it for a moment
how terrible would it be if of the millions of people who lost their jobs,
hundreds of thousands of people who died,
thousands of medical personnel who have to work hard every day
we still think this is all just a lie.
That’s why Kok Bisa is collaborating with UNDP,
Clarin Hayes, Ayo Mikir, Nous ID, Fergie JNX and Sepulang Sekolah
to combat all of the hoaxes and conspiracy theories
while always thinking critically when analyzing news.
Because in this pandemic,
it is very important for all of us to get useful information
in fighting the spread of the coronavirus.
And as always, thank you.
 
