How to Find Trusted Advice on Covid-19

Co-authored by The Verified Initiative of the United Nations and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: August 20, 2021 References

Whether you’re surfing the web, texting a friend, or tuning into the nightly news, you’re probably hearing a lot of different things about the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s difficult to get a finger on the pulse of what’s going on during the current state of the world, but there are several ways to make the fact-checking process a bit easier. If you know where to look, and subsequently, where to stay away from, you can stay informed as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Reliable Organizations

1
Consult WHO and the UN for reliable, global updates. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) are constantly studying and reporting on COVID-19 cases all over the world. These organizations’ websites offer plenty of resources and articles that you can peruse, which can help keep you up-to-date on the latest news and best practices for staying safe during the pandemic.^{[1]
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Trustworthy Source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services

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- You can find a list of common COVID-19 mythbusters here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters.
2
Visit the COVID-19 “hubs” on various social media and internet platforms. Sites like Facebook, Apple News, Google, Snapchat, and Twitter have all created special “hubs,” or featured sections of information pertaining to the COVID-19 outbreak. You’ll have to use a bit of your own discretion as you go through the different news bytes—however, many of these platforms try to prioritize more reliable news sites.^{[2]
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- These are the easiest ways to stay up-to-date with the newest COVID-19 developments.
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3
Stop by the Johns Hopkins site for accurate reports of case numbers. It can be a bit gloomy to think about how many COVID cases there are in the world currently. However, if you want a more exact count, the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering runs a dashboard that calculates the current number of global cases.^{[3]
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- You can find this site here: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
4
Follow trusted experts on social media for factual information. Platforms like Twitter can be rife with misinformation if you’re following the wrong people, but they can be a great source of news and factual information if you’re following medical experts.^{[4]
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- Doctors and members of the medical community are great people to listen to during the pandemic.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Unreliable Information Sources

The current climate has left a lot of people nervous and anxious about the coming days, which is perfectly understandable. It can be easy to believe what you see on social media, but take the time to scrutinize posts carefully and discredit any info you find about home-brewed cures or solutions for COVID-19.^{[5]
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If you’re browsing through different studies, look over the specific publication details. While many studies are authoritative, there can be different factors that impact a study’s credibility, like the funding source, or where the study was first published. Generally, try to get your information from studies published in reputable journals.^{[6]
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3
Fact-check new information against reputable organizations. Studies are teaching us new things every day, but they aren’t rewriting the rules when it comes to COVID-19, either. Even if new information is released in a study, you shouldn’t toss out everything you’ve learned out the window, either. Try to fact-check new information against reputable organizations, so you can get an idea of what to believe.^{[7]
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- For instance, you can cross-check new studies with WHO.
It can be really frustrating to find blatantly incorrect things online. Thankfully, most sites and platforms give you the option to report misinformation, which can help make the online world a safer place. You can figure out the best way to report misinformation here: https://www.who.int/campaigns/connecting-the-world-to-combat-coronavirus/how-to-report-misinformation-online.

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Tips

The best way to stay informed is to cross-check new information over several reliable sources.^{[8]
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If a source follows a strict fact-checking process, it’s probably a safe source of information.^{[9]
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Warnings

Don’t fall for the narrative that certain demographics are more “likely” to believe false facts or spread misinformation.^{[10]
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