Tackling misinformation and poisoning during the Covid-19 pandemic through Facebook: Role of the Malaysia National Poison Centre

Abstract

The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic brought upon us a constant barrage of misinformation with deleterious consequences. This short communication describes the role of the Malaysia National Poison Centre (NPC) in creating awareness and clarifying misinformation surrounding ‘viral’ Covid-19 issues in Malaysia. Facebook posts were periodically published, and the number of followers increased drastically in 2020, especially at the beginning of the nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO)’s implementation, which was between March and April 2020. Among various key issues posted in Facebook, the highest numbers of reach and user activity were recorded for the following topics; health tag product (reached 1,471,936 people with 257,645 users’ activity), hand sanitizer poisoning (reached 134,600 people with 23,400 users’ activity), bleach ingestion (reached 50,000 people with 8,100 users’ activity) and disinfection tunnel (reached 27,000 people with 2,708 users’ activity). These posts were written to disseminate accurate information, caution against misuse of products, and provide appropriate recommendations for Covid-19 protection, in the NPC’s steadfast action to fight Covid-19 ‘infodemic’.