In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India had “saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively. Life began to resume, and so did attendance at cricket matches, religious pilgrimages and political rallies for Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
Four months later, cases and deaths have exploded, the country’s vaccine rollout has faltered and public anger and mistrust have grown.
Distrust of Western vaccines and health care is also driving misinformation about sham treatments as well as claims about traditional remedies.
Satyanarayan Prasad saw the video about lemon juice and believed it. The 51-year-old resident of the state of Uttar Pradesh distrusts modern medicine and has a theory as to why his country’s health experts are urging vaccines.
“If the government approves lemon drops as a remedy, the … rupees that they have spent on vaccines will be wasted,” Prasad said.
Vijay Sankeshwar, a prominent businessman and former politician, repeated the claim about lemon juice, saying two drops in the nostrils will increase oxygen levels in the body.
While Vitamin C is essential to human health and immunity, there is no evidence that consuming lemons will fight off the coronavirus.
The claim is spreading through the Indian diaspora, too.
“They have this thing that if you drink lemon water every day that you’re not going to be affected by the virus,” said Emma Sachdev, a Clinton, New Jersey, resident whose extended family lives in India.
Sachdev said several relatives have been infected, yet continue to flout social distancing rules, thinking a visit to the temple will keep them safe.
India has also experienced the same types of misinformation about vaccines and vaccine side effects seen around the world.
Last month, the popular Tamil actor Vivek died two days after receiving his COVID-19 vaccination. The hospital where he died said Vivek had advanced heart disease, but his death has been seized on by vaccine opponents as evidence that the government is hiding side effects.
Much of the misinformation travels on WhatsApp, which has more than 400 million users in India. Unlike more open sites like Facebook or Twitter, WhatsApp — which is owned by Facebook — is an encrypted platform that allows users to exchange messages privately.
Hoaxes spread online had deadly results in 2018 when at least 20 people were killed by mobs inflamed by posts about supposed gangs of child kidnappers.
WhatsApp said in a statement that it works hard to limit misleading or dangerous content by working with public health bodies like the World Health Organization and fact-checking organizations. The platform has also added safeguards restricting the spread of chain messages and directing users to accurate online information.
The service is also making it easier for users in India and other nations to use its service to find information about vaccinations.
