‘Beware of raw health data on social media’

HEALTH minister David Parirenyatwa has said the current era of rapid information sharing through social media has exposed members of the public to “raw data” and “unsubstantiated claims” which pose a major challenge to the public health system.

Speaking at the launch of the Zimbabwe Public Health Association in Harare last Friday, Parirenyatwa said there was urgent need for public health specialists to be always at hand to counter such misinformation.

“The public is dished with raw data and what it requires now is for the health specialists to come up quickly and rubbish or authenticate certain information before it poisons our people’s minds,” Parirenyatwa said.

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