Confusing, misleading, and sometimes downright inaccurate information about the coronavirus pandemic has been spreading almost as quickly as the illness itself. People in the media continuously describe the current situation as “unprecedented.”
While it may be true that very few people alive today have witnessed a cataclysm of this magnitude, pandemics are nothing new. The most recent event of this nature was probably the 1918 influenza pandemic, but there was also the Black Plague in Europe during the Middle Ages that lasted for five years and wiped out more than half of the entire population according to some estimates. COVID-19 isn’t the first pandemic, and it probably won’t be the last. Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself and others from both the virus and the irresponsible misinformation about it.
1. Consider the Source
Only get your news about the virus from reliable sources, such as local broadcasts and newspapers. …