Rachel Riley, 38, voiced her concerns on how damaging the spread of misleading information about the coronavirus outbreak can be to people who are reading the articles and watching the videos. The Countdown star took to Twitter to express her worries that members of the public might be told the incorrect information, that could impact their health.
Sharing an article written by Buzzfeed, Rachel called the misinformation a “problem” before slamming one of the people behind the “false” videos.
“While the rest of us try to pull together to get through the crisis…” she began before sharing the headline: “YouTube Is Letting Millions Of People Watch Videos Promoting Misinformation About Coronavirus.”
“Including by David ‘Jews are secretly lizards’ Icke. This is a problem.”
Some of the false claims include that the virus is caused by 5G phone signals and can be treated with vitamin C.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Which celebrities have coronavirus?
She posted another update yesterday, after one of the groups they had focused on claimed that hand sanitiser “doesn’t work”.
“This awful Facebook group is now claiming that hand sanitiser doesn’t work & even causes cancer,” she exclaimed.
“Dissuading people from following official #Covid19 advice. We reported this to Facebook a WEEK ago. There’s no excuse not to delete it NOW.”
Express.co.uk approached YouTube and Facebook for comment. A spokesperson for the latter company said: “Harmful misinformation is not allowed on our platforms. We have deleted all of the content shared with us that breached our stringent harmful misinformation policies.
“We have partnered with the NHS to connect people to the latest official NHS guidance around coronavirus – both directly in their News Feeds and when people search on the topic to ensure people have accurate information.”
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But Rachel isn’t the only celeb to speak out about the spread of false COVID-19 rumours.
Taking to Twitter this week, British actor Idris Elba urged people to stop spreading coronavirus conspiracy theories as it’s “dumb, it’s silly, it’s very dangerous.”
“Please guys, now is not the time,” he began.
“People need to know facts, need to understand the truth so that they can protect themselves. Stop sending this stuff out. It’s very dangerous for all, not just black people, but for everyone.”
The Luther star announced on Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 but “felt OK”.
He wrote on social media: “This morning I tested positive for Covid 19.
“I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus.
“Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing. No panic.”
He also made a video alongside his wife Sabrina, where he reassured everyone she alright.
He said on Instagram: “Hey, so look, this morning I got some test results back for coronavirus and it came back positive and it sucks.
“Listen, I’m doing okay, Sabrina hasn’t been tested and she’s doing okay.
“I didn’t have any symptoms. I got tested because I realised I was exposed to someone who had also tested positive.
“I found out last Friday that they were tested positive and I quarantined myself and I got a test immediately and got the results back today.”
He joins a list of celebs diagnosed with the illness and we wish them a speedy recovery.
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