to distort information about Covid-19, including the number of cases and deaths. Fake cures have featured prominently as topics during the pandemic, in many different Asian countries. “I noticed that there were, in quite a lot of places, including in India, and in Sri Lanka, and even in Pakistan, there were these posts that were talking about miracle cures. [...] Different countries were touting these herbal remedies, which, in reality, often just boosted immunity, but were being sold as cures for Covid,” observed Raisa Wickrematunge of Himal Southasian in Sri Lanka (interview, 2021). Likewise, Injina Panthi noted, “We are doing lots of fact checking on Ayurvedic medicine [during the Covid-19 pandemic], but people keep posting and sharing the same thing, same material” (interview, 2021). Duman Smaqov noted that in Kazakhstan there was a lot of information about folk and herbal remedies, most of which were ineffective and were doing more harm than good (interview, 2021). In some cases, health mis- or disinformation is based on ethnonationalist ideology. For example, Vigneswara Ilavarasan, a professor in the Department of Management Studies of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, noted, “There is a lot of health-related information, misinformation being spread that is glorifying Hindutva-based medicine structures” (interview, 2021). In other instances, such mis- or disinformation is state-backed. In Kyrgyzstan, dangerous false information was publicly endorsed by President Sadyr Japarov and his health minister, who vouched for the effectiveness of a toxic root against Covid-19 despite the World Health Organization (WHO) issuing warnings against its use (Radio Azattyk 2021) and local reports of poisoning attributed to the root (RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service 2021b). Civil society and medical professionals mobilized against this treatment and worked with Facebook, which eventually removed all mentions of the treatment from the president’s and health minister’s Facebook pages and Instagram posts (RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service 2021a). Mis- and disinformation about Covid-19 vaccines have also been a widespread issue, with the potential to drive vaccine hesitancy. Reasons for vaccine hesitancy include false information about the vaccines and lack of trust in authorities (see, for instance, Lee 2021; Nachemson 2021; Zainul and Chua 2021). In some cases, religious perceptions have helped fuel vaccine hesitancy. I N FO R M ATI O N D I SO R D ER IN THE GLOBA L SOUTH For example, Ramsha Jahangir observed that the belief that there are haram products in the vaccines can drive the perception that the vaccine is “un-Islamic” (interview, 2021). In Malaysia, the belief that vaccines are haram has also contributed to hesitancy, and some mosques have used sermons to encourage people to get vaccinated (Rodzi 2021). In other instances, delays in vaccine rollouts have provided room for rumors to flourish. For instance, Taeksoo Cho, a news reporter at the Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company (JTBC) in South Korea, observed: “The biggest problem is that we need to speed up vaccinations for the people, but we don’t have enough vaccines right now. So that’s why a lot of misinformation is circulating on social media, and [by word of] mouth” (interview, 2021). Pre-existing cultural beliefs about medicines, as well as cross-cultural influences, can play a role in vaccine hesitancy. Kayo Mimizuka, freelance journalist and member of the Japan Center of Education for Journalists (JCEJ), observed: It’s just my impression that is not based on any research, because I’m not an expert on [vaccine hesitancy]. But because I’ve spent the last two years in the US, here, I have this impression that people are okay to take really strong medicines or get vaccines for flu and stuff. But I would say in Japan, that hesitancy is more a part of the culture. I guess it really depends on the generations. But I think there’s that foundation in the culture—that people don’t really want to rely on vaccines or medication. I don’t know if it’s because of Eastern medicine culture or something else. But when it comes to Covid, we see a lot of misinformation being imported from abroad. And that’s getting translated by certain people in Japan, and that circulates a little later, after [it has circulated] in the USA, especially. So I’m sure that misinformation also increases vaccine skepticism. (interview, 2021) The pandemic has also led to the scapegoating of certain communities as “spreaders” of the disease, as observed by Nalaka Gunawardene: A large number of Sinhalese will uncritically believe a tall tale about a Muslim or a Tamil. They will not demand evidence. And I say this with some shame, as a Sinhalese, that many among us Sinhalese have that prejudice. So last year [2020], during the early days of Covid, Muslims were accused of being super-spreaders: [it was said] that this is a Muslim-spread disease and Asia – 1 97