File photo: NZ HeraldHalf of Kiwis believe in some form of Covid-related misinformation and almost 20 percent hold at least three false beliefs, a new survey says. The findings come in a new report from Te Mana Whakaatu, the Government's Classification Office, by examining the landscape of virus-related misinformation in Aotearoa. Misinformation could be described as false information that was not created to hurt others - in contrast to disinformation, which was designed to harm a person, group, organisation or country. Although she accepted some of the report's findings could be worrying, Hannah said she was reassured by people's ability to detect false information. Massey University senior lecturer Dr Jagadish Thaker was not surprised by half of Kiwis believing some form of misinformation and said even those aware of the risk could be susceptible.

Source: Otago Daily Times June 29, 2021 22:30 UTC