When Satyaki Mitra's father developed a mild fever in mid-March, the graduate student in Philadelphia wasn't especially worried. He told his 57-year-old father, living in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, to get tested for the new coronavirus.
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA - When Satyaki Mitra’s father developed a mild fever in mid-March, the graduate student in Philadelphia wasn’t especially worried. He told his 57-year-old father, living in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, to get tested for the new coronavirus.
The case underscores how vitriol and disinformation can fan paranoia and even violence in a country already reeling from the worst communal riots in years between Muslims and Hindus - partly whipped up by fake news. Two independent Indian fact-checkers told Reuters they had seen a sharp increase in misinformation and fake news on the coronavirus across platforms since the outbreak was first detected in India.
In response to questions from Reuters, WhatsApp and Facebook said they were working to connect people directly with public health officials. In separate interviews, both said Samir had traveled to central India to attend a wedding in early March, and returned to Kolkata by train before falling ill. “On the 21st, my mother called and informed me he had COVID. The tests had come back positive,” he said, referring to COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus. “I was absolutely shattered.”Following Samir’s death on March 23, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee instructed officials to ensure Samir was safely and quickly cremated.
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