Misinformation is out today.

Priya's mosque sees Indian comic book superhero Preah confront fake news around the pandemic and highlight steps people can take to reduce the risk of infection in India, particularly unverifiable claims around the benefits of drinking warm water, herbal remedies and spices, as it means to ward off the coronavirus, have spread rapidly on social media.

The animated film, in addition to a comic book, challenges thes claims and does Mawr.

Here's a small peak.

I wish we could go back in time.

A.

We used to go to the park together and play, but now I barely see you.

Don't be afraid.

I am Prio, your friend and this Issayas.

Why are you sad, Mina?

I miss my friends.

I have no one to tell my feelings.

Toe.

Come on, let's go on a journey.

Have you ever been on a flying tiger?

E mhm way have to be strong So those who love us can also be strong.

That's my friend Lena Skies E.

Let's say hi to your friend.

Hi, that's my ma.

She works as a nurse here.

Your ma has sacrificed her time with you to take care off those who need help because of the virus.

I am sure she misses you, too, Amina.

But right now she is the whole these patients need and tria.

We need to stand together and bring about the change we want to see.

That's how we can beat the virus.

Continue to wear a mask for your safety and mine.

Joining me now.

Well known Hindi film actress Manal Talker.

The voice off the main character, Preah.

That's the young woman on the Flying Tigers.

Thank you so much for making the time.

Now The cartoon itself is called Priya's Mosque.

Is the message mainly about wearing a mosque during this pandemic?

Or is there something more, you know?

Yes, of course.

It's about the pandemic.

It's about wearing a mask, and it's about keeping ourselves and the loved ones safe.

There's this beautiful line in the animated film that you would see that sometimes we have to be strong in order that you know people around us people who love us can be strong.

Uh, this time is so difficult, especially because of the Corbett 19 situation.

We have lost our loved ones we have to be in inside, locked up in our house, not being able to meet our friends and family.

So pre ask Mask is all about Kobe.

19.

It's about educating the Children because there's so much fear.

There's so much anxiety, the fear off.

You know, the fact that they can't meet friends, they have to watch the attend their schools.

So it's about it's a beautiful one where, you know, we're just tryingto make sure that the kids understand what would 19 is all about how this pandemic has affected us and how their parents are there.

Superhero.

So Prius mask is all about it, right?

And you, like everyone else, have also naturally experienced this pandemic.

I wonder if that experience helped with voicing Priya.

Yes, absolutely.

Trust me.

The beginning off this lock down was extremely gloomy and very depressing for me.

But my father, who was a government employees, have seen him working all throughout the spender make Andi.

I realized that he is my superhero because he's making sure he's stepping out of the house.

He's serving the nation.

He's a banker, Onda.

After voicing this character when I reached home, I asked my father if he was doing okay.

And, uh, when I told him that you are my superhero, he had that twinkle in his eyes.

He almost had tears.

And I just very important for our parents to know from their daughter or their son that, you know, they are.

They're superheroes and they didn't make a huge difference in their lives.

Uh, when I was voicing this character, you know, like, I was really excited and I was nervous because this is something that I've never done before on duh, I always wanted toe have this kind of character who you know.

So Priya is basic Prius.

Strength is her power of persuasion, and that's what I resonate with me.

Speaking of persuasion and people who worked through the pandemic people such as your father, uh, do you think that these people who have been able to carry on with their jobs or have had to carry on with their jobs, such as bankers and doctors through this pandemic have got their fair share off recognition?

Or have they unduly had to face problems while they've been working?

Yes, they did not get their share off, you know, we?

Oh, that's why probably this is the reason why we made this film so that we We appreciate the frontline workers, the doctors, the nurses.

Oh, and just to let them know that they did make a huge difference.

And if they wouldn't, if they weren't around us, I don't know what we would have done, so they did not get their credit.

So this is a little something that from from from my team from pre ask mask the entire team we just wanted toe Appreciate, You know, for the fact that they've worked so hard throughout this pandemic.

Eso just want to say through your interview, just want to say thank you to each and every pilot who has left in the people from various countries and got back to their homes and, you know, or thank you to all the doctors who have treated CO with 19 patients.

Uh, trust me, this Thank you is not enough.

What would you say to those people who are hesitant or rather, who won't follow the rules, such as wearing masks or keeping social distance?

I mean, you see this in India all the time.

What would you say to those people.

Yeah, I think we just need to be responsible, citizen, if you like people of whoever I meet on on the streets, if they're not wearing a mask, all I do is I just go.

And I request them.

If you could just please wear a mask, you may not.

Your immunity may be strong, but you may have that asymptomatic.

You may be asymptomatic, but if you take the wires home, it may affect your mom.

It may affect elderly people.

It may affect people who have underlying diseases.

So please, please not for your sake, just for your sake, but for your for the sake, off your family and for the for the people who already suffering through other health issues please, for them wear a mask.

Take precautions when all taco hoping that they take your advice.

Pleasure talking to you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

India has recorded more than nine million cases so far and is the second worst affected country globally.

But what is also driving up numbers is the spread of unverifiable claims to do with the transmission of the virus and how to stop it.

Protection are is co founder off Ault News, a fact checking website in India.

I began by asking him what kind of misinformation he had seen spreading on social media in the country.

Um, it's mostly being health related off later.

There have been different strains of misinformation with the week coronavirus.

There was a time in between when, uh the pandemic was communal eyes and the Muslim community in India was targeted using false would use and images trying to suggest that they willingly spreading the pandemic.

Uh, this was in the month of April May, but at present, most of the misinformation that is about corner of isis health misinformation as to, you know, have this drug toe prevent corner, as have that drug to prevent Cornel West and very often these air home formulations, uh, in terms off, You know how hot water and lemon have ginger, garlic and things like that.

Besides that, there's a lot of misinformation about, uh, you know, homeopathy, for example, being used as a prophylactic measure.

Certain diuretic, um, instrumentation is being used.

As for a prophylactic measure which do not have evidence on, this includes the There's a ministry in India called Ayush, which deals with areas of formula here and Iowa.

And they have also suggested certain protocols called.

I used protocols to prevent covert, but there isn't much research are published work in this area.

So do you see that this is being spread with nefarious intent?

All this misinformation, or is it basically people who truly believe they're helping others?

It is not nefarious intent.

I wouldn't suggest that this nefarious sentence it is twofold.

One, um, this nationalistic thing about, you know, that there has to be some ingenious solution that has to come about covert from traditional medicine.

You know, the sort off medicines that people have been using for a century.

There is a There is a solution in traditional medicine, and you don't really have to depend on modern medicine.

That is one school of thought where you know there's misinformation coming from the other is, uh, this insecurity around the pandemic, where there isn't any apparent curia.

There are a few, you know, antivirals that are now in the market, which some of which have been promising.

But, uh, there is no cure.

It creates a massive insecurity, and people in general and which is why these claims about gonna have this and there's gonna prevent covert have that there's gonna prove in court those kind of claims get circulated.

Uh, because you know, misinformation directly lied Thio link to your state of insecurity.

And that is the other reason why it has been so widespread.

Have you seen any measures?

Perfecto counter these kinds of unverifiable claims.

So from the point of your social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter are doing some Facebook Twitter, YouTube, but it is nearly not enough.

I mean, there's so much misinformation, so many conspiracy theories out there.

The other strain of this information, of course, the conspiracy theorists who are out there on YouTube trying to make a buck.

Uh, you're using putting out videos which are sensationalist in nature, suggesting wait random things.

Thankfully, in India there, there isn't much off anti vaccine misinformation yet.

It is starting to, but there isn't as much as you know, countries like us.

That's our experience.

But but yeah, yeah, that that is the thing.

From the point of your government, they have Ah, uh, they have a Twitter account now called the Aib Fact check, which is putting out some fact checks, but unfortunately, the fact checking handle is very biased in terms of what content it puts out in terms off political religion.

So people also find it difficult to believe that, you know, this is a German fact checking outlet.

But there isn't something done at the scale at at which it is required, especially in a country, as because Indiana's popular says in here, Well, thank you, thank you very much for that perspective.