These days we hear a lot of news through the media, even in official news agencies, about the Coronavirus, the number of people infected and the deaths, which can raise our concern; so I intend to give tips about the Coronavirus.

Much of these news would bring no achievements for us, and it's not easy to interpret much of it. When it comes to information transfer in the world, there is a misuse of statistics or statistical fallacy that make news to seem frightening, sometimes attractive, or that some politicians use statistical fallacy to justify their performance and destroy a competitor.

There have been many debates about the coronavirus and its transmission, none of which are 100 percent proven, and even the production of the virus in the laboratory and the subject of bioterrorism, but with such interpretations, it is important to consider how coronavirus is transmitted between humans and animals.

There are two international organizations active in health sector, one of which is the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), which controls all animal diseases. 

It has been suggested by WHO and OIE that its association between humans and animals and vice versa has been proven and whether the disease can be transmitted in different animal species as well.

Coronavirus is not a new virus, although many people who are not familiar with the health issues have just heard of it, but doctors, veterinarians or microbiologists, have known the virus for many years and can talk about it professionally.

A case in point is that coronavirus seen in camels of Jask city (Hormozgan Province) differs from coronavirus originating in China, as thousands of urban cats in Tehran may now be infected with the coronavirus, and cat coronavirus causes a disease called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) that causes inflation in the belly of the animal and can result in death.

Coronavirus has existed in the past and has been controlled, but we have to be aware of what media releases and Coronavirus facts. 

Unfortunately, some news agencies are exaggerating about the normal coronavirus and present it as the novel coronavirus to attract audiences.

The media often publishes negative news, so that is why many psychologists recommend the depressed people to avoid keeping track of the news. 

It is very natural that negative news spreads faster and unfortunately news agencies are also using the method of releasing frightening and painful news to increase audience attraction and make it more appealing to the audience. 

This is why news agencies provide the people with news free of charge so that they can convey the message to the target audience.

So, besides hearing the news, we have to refer to our media literacy to know what news we receive from what source and how well the source is qualified to release the news.

We need to weigh the news to find out which side of the story drives the audience alongside the news and what is the psychological impact on the audience and what social feedback does it expect? For this reason, the need for media literacy is increasing day by day, which is a difficult task, and media cannot be easily verified and media literacy in the community and audience requires time to be achieved.

We have to know that with the advent of coronavirus, people's lives are not going to be interrupted or their activities stopped, but we have to learn that not all news is necessarily true and they should not be cited. 

Audiences and people should not be too busy publishing this news, because many of these will upset and disturb people's minds and may lose their peace of mind.

So, we should all strive to increase our media literacy and not believe every single news anywhere.

FB/MG