Fake News led to empty shelves across Thailand.
Thailand shoppers have left supermarkets with empty shelves across Thailand. The Corona Situation in Thailand has led to fake news being forwarded to netizens. After Shoppers received the information they headed to the nearest supermarket to stock up on food and water. The forwarded message stated “A nurse in Siriraj Hospital walked over to me and said that I should start stocking food. The nurse just came out of a conference stating that Thailand was going to be shut down. The news will be officially announced next week, they even warned the nurses to prepare food. I have confirmed the information with the hospital. This is inside news, wait till you hear the announcement”.
This was later confirmed not true by Assoc. Prof. Jessada Denduangboripant from Chulalongkorn university. The professor stated “Fake news about the new Coronavirus is still coming out regularly. The voice clip and a picture of a middle-aged woman who claimed that Thailand will be on shut down next week are not true. Fake news will often use Siriraj Hospital’s name to make the information seem more trustable. It’s possible that the woman in the picture was used against her will and she might not even be Thai. Don’t panic from rumors or fake news on the Covid-19.
The most popular products at the supermarket are instant noodles, bottled water, vegetable oil, eggs, and ready to eat food. Even though supermarkets are overflowing with shoppers, malls and markets that sell clothing and entertainment are not crowded like before. It was also raining when these pictures were taken (15 March 2020) so many shoppers decided to stay home and be safe from Covid-19 and to avoid traffic caused by the rain. Netizens have mentioned that many are not making as much income as before, especially those in the tourism industry so its best to keep their money for food and bills.
FB Caption: The most popular products at the supermarket are instant noodles, bottled water, vegetable oil, eggs, and ready-to-eat food.
Source: Kapook, Facebook: Jessada Denduangboripant
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