As the spread of the Coronavirus becomes a more pressing issue by the day, a number of major names are discussing the severity of the ensuing pandemic and advising their followers to take action to prevent it affecting those especially vulnerable. Ed Boon recently shared a meme with Mortal Kombat fans urging them to stay at home, while Cory Barlog has issued a number of pleas to his followers, asking them to stay inside their homes to prevent vulnerable members of society from getting sick.
Dr. DisRespect has also seemingly joined the discussion about the severity of the Coronavirus, however, his message seemingly differs from what other stars have been sharing. Discussing the state of social media since the illness became a global pandemic, the popular streamer believes sites like Twitter are driving panic up, claiming that a lot of the reactions currently cultivating on these platforms come from those outside of the medical profession.
"Listen, that's the scary thing with social media... mainstream media can be controlled, right," Dr DisRespect claims, following on by stating, "Social media can really stir up a higher level of panic. If you think about it, it's not controlled. So you're getting raw opinions, raw feedback... from people that aren't educated, that are educated, it's crazy."
He goes on to clarify his view with an example, claiming "Think about in... let's say 2000... a time right before social media. It's unfortunate that Tom Hanks has announced that he contracted it. Imagine if he did back then, like, that news would it have ever surfaced or spread at the rate it did? I mean yesterday when I saw it was on my feed everywhere. And it was just like magnified. It magnifies the word coronavirus." He goes on to admit, however, "I don't know, I'm not an expert."
Although DisRespect's train of thought can be hard to follow, it appears what the popular online streamer is attempting to convey is that the presence of social media has exponentially changed reactions surrounding the spread of the illness, with users driving panic levels through the roof. It's an interesting viewpoint, and Disrespect is right that fans shouldn't let Twitter and other platforms overly panic them, however, it's worth remembering that the extent of social media has allowed many to understand the severity of the virus and that's undeniably a good thing.
The coronavirus itself has become more of a pressing issue by the day, with a number of major events and productions shutting their doors to account for the contagious nature of the illness. Major films like No Time to Die and F9 have had to push back their release dates to account for the pandemic, while E3 has had to cancel for the first time in many years to account for the virus' infectious spread.
Source: Twitch