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Technology like mobile apps and other software are being used for monitoring the movement of citizens.
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Apps like WeChat, Alipay and QQ to access a state-run platform called Close Contact Detector.
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Most social media networks have rules banning the posting of hateful or defamatory information.
The citizens of China have turned to wireless technology to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Millions of people who are now quarantined in China have been relying on their phones for contact with the outside world, whereas those still moving around in the cities are using their smartphones to negotiate the country's hyper-vigilant public service network.
According to the Chinese media reports, people in some Chinese cities cannot use public transportation without first using their phones to identify themselves so that authorities will have a record of their movements if they later become infected. Already, Chinese railway authorities can find and report the names of people who rode near a passenger who later came down with COVID-19.
As for people who want to avoid quarantine can send a text message to their carrier and get back a list of the cities and provinces they've been in during the past two weeks. In some cases, this can serve as proof that a person's likelihood of exposure is relatively low.
People can also rely on apps like WeChat, Alipay and QQ to access a state-run platform called Close Contact Detector. The app will let the user their name and national ID number, and gets back information about whether they have had close contact with someone suspected of having the virus. Due to the fact that most people use public transport and require to buy tickets to do so gives the Close Contact Detector software enough data to pull from the records.
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Dealing with coronavirus outside of China
Apart from using wireless technology in China, , on a global scale.
Researchers at RTI International were able to identify mobile phones in a past study whose users had tweeted at least twice from Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. Then they tracked the movements of those phones, hoping that the trips made several years ago during the study would be indicative of travel patterns the phone owners are still following.
According to the researchers, 74% of the new coronavirus cases reported outside of China in January occurred less than 15 kilometers from a location visited by one or more of the people who had tweeted from Wuhan during the time of the study (2013-2015). In the US, Los Angeles, Seattle and Tucson all reported cases of the new virus, and all of those cities were destinations for people who tweeted from Wuhan during the time of the study.
Based on the data, the researchers said COVID-19 could be expected to show up in the UK (it has), Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. They also singled out Barbados, Pakistan and Turkey as countries that should be on high alert.
Learn more: J&J JUMPING IN ON CORONAVIRUS VAX WORK AS DISEASE CONTINUES ITS SPREAD
Facebook, TikTok and other apps tackle false claims about coronavirus
Most social media networks have rules banning the posting of hateful or defamatory information. But following a backlash against firms such as Facebook and Twitter for allowing fake news to spread during the 2016 US presidential election, networks began taking action. False information on social media has led to mob violence in several counties and has also helped spread unfounded fears about the safety of vaccines.
“We’re seeing a rippling out. And we don’t see it stopping.”
- Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup in New York.
Social networks are now facing pressure to ensure their platforms don't incite panic or cause harm as authorities try to address the coronavirus outbreak.
Facebook says it will limit the spread of false information about the coronavirus by removing "false claims or conspiracy theories".
In a blog post, . The firm also said it would notify individuals who had shared or were trying to share information that had been flagged as false.
Facebook said it was focusing on "claims that are designed to discourage treatment" including posts about false cures.
One post from the Philippines advised Facebook users to "keep your throat moist" and avoid spicy food to avoid becoming infected with the coronavirus. That post was shared over 16,000 times and had over 400 comments.
Twitter said there have been over 15 million tweets about the coronavirus in the last four weeks.
It launched a prompt that appears when users search for coronavirus encouraging them to use official channels - the World Health Organization or Centres for Disease Control - for information.
When Twitter users search for coronavirus a large headline with the title "Know the facts" appears
Twitter said it had not seen "coordinated attempts" to spread false information but was remaining vigilant.
“The fear toward the virus is everywhere, I think it’s unfair for all Chinese citizens; they are not allowed to go into restaurants or cannot speak Mandarin.”
- Ms. Yao, international student in Jeju Island
False information alone doesn't violate YouTube's guideline for videos.
The streaming video site - which is owned by Google - has been investing to make sure accurate and authoritative information appears most often in searches.
YouTube takes down videos when they contain hate speech, harassment, messages that incite violence or scams - all of which violate its community guidelines.
For coronavirus searches, YouTube said it was showing previews of text-based news articles along with a warning that developing stories can change quickly.
Video sharing network TikTok has added a link to the WHO's website and a reminder to users to report information they think might be harmful.
But to see the additional information users have the first search for "#coronavirus" and click to expand the information.
The platform is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance. It has recently been criticised for allowing doctors and nurses to post videos giving medical advice on other health issues.
TikTok said its guidelines prohibit posting information that could be harmful.
On Friday, Reddit put a banner at the top of its home page directing users to a thread addressing questions about the coronavirus. It contains authoritative resources and content for people concerned about the outbreak.
Reddit also "quarantined" one of its user communities because of the large amount of false and misleading information being posted on it. This means users are given a warning about the type of content on the site when they enter.
Snapchat also said the structure of its platforms protects it from the spread of false information.
Snapchat posts disappear after 24 hours, preventing them from being repeatedly shared or going viral.
The site doesn't have a public news feed that anyone can post on.
That doesn't mean individuals can't share false
information with their contacts on Snapchat. But those posts are likely to be seen only by a small number of people.
As of now, very few of the Chinese citizens have expressed their concerns regarding privacy. Further, the researchers have not disclosed the identity of those who phones were being studied, nor have they confirmed capturing their data.