全球數百人因新冠錯誤信息死亡

At least 800 people died around the world because of coronavirus-related misinformation in the first three months of this year, researchers say.
研究人員稱，今年前三個月，全球至少有800人因與新冠病毒相關的錯誤信息而死亡。

A study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene says about 5,800 people were admitted to hospital as a result of false information on social media.
發表在《美國熱帶醫學與衛生雜誌》上的一項研究稱，約5800人因社交媒體上的虛假信息而入院。

Many died from drinking methanol or alcohol-based cleaning products.
許多人因飲用甲醇或含酒精的清潔產品死亡。

They wrongly believed the products to be a cure for the virus.
他們錯誤地認爲這些產品可以治癒新冠肺炎。

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said that the "infodemic" surrounding Covid-19 spread just as quickly as the virus itself, with conspiracy theories, rumours and cultural stigma all contributing to deaths and injuries.
世界衛生組織此前曾表示，圍繞新冠病毒的“信息疫情”與病毒本身傳播速度一樣快，陰謀論、謠言和污名化都導致了死亡和傷害。

Many of the victims had followed advice resembling credible medical information - such as eating large amounts of garlic or ingesting large quantities of vitamins - as a way of preventing infection, the study's authors say. Others drank substances such as cow urine.
該研究的作者說，許多受害者遵循了類似可靠醫療信息的建議來預防感染：比如吃大量大蒜或攝入大量維生素。另一些人則飲用牛尿或攝入其他物質。

These actions all had "potentially serious implications" on their health, the researchers say.
研究人員說，這些行爲都對他們的健康有“潛在的嚴重影響”。

The paper concludes that it is the responsibility of international agencies, governments and social media platforms to fight back against this "infodemic", but tech companies have been criticised for their slow and patchy response. In the UK, laws to regulate online harm might be several years away.
這篇論文得出結論稱，國際機構、政府和社交媒體平臺有責任反擊這種“信息疫情”，但科技公司一直因反應遲緩和不盡如人意而受到批評。在英國，監管網絡傷害的法律可能還需要幾年的時間才能確立。

The BBC's own investigations found links to assaults, arson and deaths as a result of misinformation about the virus, and spoke to doctors, experts and victims about their experiences.
英國廣播公司開展的調查發現，新冠病毒的錯誤信息會導致襲擊、縱火和死亡。醫生、專家和受害者還向英國廣播公司講述了他們的經歷。

Online rumours led to mob attacks in India and mass poisonings in Iran. Telecommunications engineers have been threatened and attacked and phone masts have been set alight in the UK and other countries because of conspiracy theories that have been incubated and amplified online.
網絡謠言導致了印度的暴徒襲擊和伊朗的大規模中毒事件。在英國和其他一些國家，由於陰謀論在網上醞釀和擴散，電信工程師受到威脅和攻擊，通信基站被點燃。

Social media also helps scammers to take advantage of the pandemic, selling ineffective badges that claim to ward off the virus, and urging followers to part with money in exchange for a "mineral miracle supplement", which is - in reality - diluted bleach.
社交媒體還幫助騙子利用疫情，銷售聲稱可以抵禦病毒的無效徽章，並敦促粉絲購買“礦物質奇蹟補充劑”，實際上，這是稀釋的漂白劑。

As vaccines emerge, there is the further threat that anti-vaccine campaigners will use the platform provided by social media to persuade people not to protect themselves.
隨着疫苗的出現，反疫苗活動人士將利用社交媒體平臺來說服人們不要注射，這是進一步的威脅。

Despite social media companies removing or labelling misleading information about vaccines, recent polling in the United States showed that 28% of Americans believe that Bill Gates wants to use vaccines to implant microchips in people.
儘管社交媒體公司刪除或標註了有關疫苗的誤導性信息，但美國最近的民意調查顯示，28%的美國人相信比爾·蓋茨希望用疫苗將微芯片植入人體。

The achievement of an effective coronavirus vaccine could be completely undermined by misinformation, doctors told the BBC's anti-disinformation team.
醫生們告訴英國廣播公司的反虛假信息小組，一種有效的新冠病毒疫苗的研製成果可能會被虛假信息完全破壞。