Citing Virus Misinformation, South Africa Tests Speech Limits | Undark

“African blood and black skin prevent Covid-19.” This is one of the many claims that the fact-checking organization Africa Check has disproved since the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 emerged in December 2019. In South Africa, where Africa Check is headquartered, there are rumors that the virus only affects white people, leading some residents to ignore warning signs that they might be infected.

“Just this past weekend, we received over 200 requests to fact-check information related to the pandemic, many times over what we got on a ‘normal’ weekend of the last quarter of 2019,” wrote Lee Mwiti, Africa Check’s chief editor, in an email to Undark.

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