Page 2 - Beyond COVID-19

Surviving Infodemic

n online event, Beyond COVID-19, was held on February
A19. Agnes Lam, journalism lecturer of the Chinese Univer- I guess it is not difficult for people who have access to true
sity of Hong Kong, gave a lecture on “Surviving COVID-19”, from information to survive an infodemic. We may verify information by
which I learned a new word, infodemic. visiting news websites and looking for original or official sources,
as Lam said in the lecture. But it is not easy.
According to Oxford English Dictionary, infodemic means
“an excessive amount of information about a problem that is When a person’s beliefs are based on false information, he may
typically unreliable, spreads rapidly, and makes a solution more not be able to make reasonable judgements. If he assumes the
difficult to achieve.” press is not reliable and does not trust any sources apart from
the false information they believe in, it is impossible to get out of
I find this word very interesting. Lam cited the spread of large the vicious cycle.
amount of disinformation about vaccine as an example of
infodemic. We should keep in mind that Hiratsuka Masayuki may not be
spreading misinformation maliciously. He might just has firmly
A similar issue related to infodemic also occurred in Japan believed and trusted in the fake information.
recently. Groups of people gathered for a Cluster festival (ク
ラスターフェス), a rally protesting against mask-wearing and Then, what should we do to keep people from falling into the
political measures that help prevent the spread of COVID-19. vicious cycle of infodemic? How should journalists deal with
Almost all participants did not wear masks or maintain social people who do not trust the press and spread false information?
distancing. Some of them even insisted that they hoped to be This is a very important issue.
infected with the virus. The incident attracted public attention
and sparked public debates. Banning fake news will be a violation of freedom of expression.
Yet, if we do nothing, infodemic continues.
Hiratsuka Masayuki, the main organizer of the rally, firmly
believed that almost all reports about COVID-19 were fake. I would like to hear Varsity students’ views.
There are different opinions about his actions. I think his
behavior is totally unacceptable, but I guess he is not only a
perpetrator of fake news, but also a victim of infodemic. By Hiroki Hamaguchi

Community Support during the Pandemic

n January 7, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide de- agricultural products and processed food from other volunteers,
Oclared a state of emergency for the second time. The gov- and then deliver the food to disadvantaged families by truck. Peo-
ernment decision has a great impact on the country’s economy. ple in need can also collect food from their centre.
Many grassroots workers have become jobless since last year. Cooperation among farmers, food companies, confectionery
Although there are some moderate signs of economic recovery, companies and other volunteer groups are essential to work
many are still suffering from poverty and hunger. things out.
Some organizations try to help the needy by distributing free Mr. Tsukasa Kono, the executive director of TCFS, says the pan-
food. One of them is Tokyo Children & Family Supporters (TCFS, demic has affected the operation of the organisation. They could
東京子ども子育て応援団). not find enough drivers to help delivering food to the poor. While,
companies that used to donate food to TCFS are also struggling
The organisation has about 70 volunteers from the nearby to survive during pandemic, leading to a decrease in food dona-
neighbourhood and a Christian church. They provide food for tion.
about 100 households once a week. They collect food such as
There are also other volunteer organisations engaging in simi-
lar activities. Kamakura City administration distributes free food
to those who suffer from pay cuts. We can see that food distri-
bution is done not only by citizen groups but also by the local
government.

Food was also distributed at Tsukuba University, where more
than 20 tons of food, including rice and instant food, were donat-
ed to students on January 22, 2021. Some students could not af-
ford buying food, because they have lost their part-time jobs and
they lack financial support from their families. Cries of joy were
seen on social networking services when they got the donations.

There are many people who are in need in Japan. I believe that
community-based efforts are indispensable for society to survive
during the pandemic. I strongly feel that it is important for every-
one in Japan to take part in community services and help those
Volunteers were packing food to be distributed to people in who are having a difficult time.
need. By Hiroki Hamaguchi