Misinformation is rife during a pandemic. We all have a personal moral responsibility to counteract fake news and false claims. To protect ourselves and our loved ones, we must diligently examine the information we choose to share. 

Did you know that black people are naturally immune from the COVID-19 virus? It's actually not true, but it is one of many instances of conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and fake news that are accompanying our experience of the most frightening pandemic of the early 21st century. That particular piece of misinformation -- with its obvious racist overtones -- was put to rest by a number of media outlets, including a NBC article on March 19th, which also commented on false assertions that there are no cases of COVID-19 in Africa. To dispel that bit of nonsense, just take a look at this map put out by Johns Hopkins University. Indeed, NBA player Rudy Gobert, who is a Frenchman of Caribbean heritage, tested positive for the virus. You know what else is false? That singer Keri Nelson got COVID-19 by way of her 5G cellular phone, an assertion debunked by the HuffPost on March 16th.