Misinformation regularly proliferates during arduous times of crises or disasters. Some perpetrators of misleading news use shocking visual material to stimulate others' feelings and convince them of a specific story or point of view. Misinformation amid disasters can also focus on the circulating misunderstanding of facts, including the number of victims and scale of damage.
A social media user could also accidentally generate misinformation and spread it while sharing or retweeting what others think is accurate. Amid natural disasters, governments, companies, and NGOs could also spread misinformation to help their business grow or to promote and serve their agendas by posting misleading claims, including shocking or unexpected visuals. Similarly, internet users can use misleading visuals and images which are taken out of context to convince people to donate.
Misinformation can target several internet users, including people who lack understanding of the material’s context and those without strong critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, misinformation can harm vulnerable people living under difficult circumstances like the Pakistani flood victims.
Old Photos of floods resurface online
Misbar spotted a verified Twitter account sharing posts calling for donations for the victims of floods in Pakistan. However, the account uses old pictures of children who were victims of the 2010 floods in Pakistan and other images from floods in India.
The verified Twitter account shared a picture of a girl carrying a little kid in the middle of a flooded road. “1/3 of Pakistan is currently underwater. The nation is facing FAR more than a national emergency, but is a humanitarian catastrophe,” the Twitter user wrote. “If Pakistan were in Europe or North America - the whole world would be rushing to help,” he added.
Misbar has investigated the picture and found that is shows floods in India. It was uploaded to several image stores as a girl carrying her brother while wading through a flooded road after heavy rains on the outskirts of Agartala, India, on June 18, 2022.
The same Twitter user shared another photograph showing two girls carrying two little children and looking at the camera. The image also features other kids in the background. “You do not have to be Pakistani or Muslim to care about the #PakistanFlood. You just have to be human,” the caption reads.
However, the image dates back to, at least, 2011. It shows Pakistani children in the flooded town of Khairpur Nathanshah.
Misbar’s team looked up the image on Getty Images. It turned out that the picture was taken in 2010 and shows Pakistani children playing in the flooded town of Khairpur Nathanshah after large areas were submerged by flood water ravaging Pakistan.
The verified Twitter account also posted a picture of a family with their children with bare feet sitting in the middle of the street and covering themselves from the rain.
Misbar found that the image is old and shows family members displaced by floods using a tarp to escape a monsoon downpour in the Badin district in Pakistan's Sindh province in 2011 after floods destroyed or damaged 1.2 million houses and flooded 1.8 million hectares, according to Alamy images store.
The users also posted an image of a child in tears on his father’s shoulders.
However, the picture is old and was posted online in 2010 as a Pakistani boy crying on top of his father's shoulder while crossing a flooded road in Baseera, Muzaffargarh district, Punjab Province, on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
Is the New Twitter Crisis Misinformation Policy Effective?
Twitter had previously introduced a new crisis misinformation policy in May 2022 and decided to apply warning labels to claims that experts have identified as “misinformation during fast-moving times of crisis.” The company launched its new misinformation policy, believing that its users choose the platform to find reliable information. According to the social media giant, accessing credible and authoritative information during the periods of crises like natural disasters and health emergencies is more critical.
The company defined a crisis as a situation in which “there is a widespread threat to life, physical safety, health, or basic subsistence.” The Twitter Head of Safety & Integrity also stated that their definition of a crisis is “consistent with the UN's definition of a humanitarian crisis and other humanitarian assessments.” However, this new policy raised many questions about its effectiveness. Misbar addressed many claims and debunked several misleading visuals related to the recent floods in Pakistan and Sudan, mostly circulated on the platform.
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