Unreliable and misleading information about coronavirus is circulating across the world to a large degree. There is increasing concern that this pandemic will put lives at risk, causing those with symptoms to seek unproven treatments in the hope of 'curing' themselves. But the global epidemic of misinformation spreading rapidly across social networking sites and other outlets- poses a much more severe public health problem than the pandemic itself.

In an attempt to stop the spread of fake and misinformation, the short video app- TikTok has launched a campaign called "Mat Kar Forward" urging netizens to stop forwarding videos which do not have verified information.

Actors Sara Ali Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Virat Kohli have joined hands in this initiative to stop the spread of coronavirus misinformation that is flooding on the internet. On Monday, Virat Kohli took to Twitter and posted the video on the same.

All of you support us with such fervour when we play for the nation. But now the nation needs you, me, all of us to play for it. Will you do your bit? #MatKarForward @TikTok_INhttps://t.co/uCXPEDyWgv pic.twitter.com/IVhzo8pyU5

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 4, 2020

Directed by filmmaker Anurag Basu, the video opens with celebrities holding a round table discussion. The four actors could be heard talking about how harmful their subject of discussion is and how quickly it can spread. As the video progresses, it is revealed that they are talking about disinformation and fake news, which also drives people to make ill-informed decisions, to undermine trust, and to have an impact.

The cast filmed the video in their respective homes and then edited by Basu to suit the government's guidelines on social distancing.

The initiative, commissioned by TikTok, will be broadcast live on Doordarshan and other TV channels from Monday. Recently, to counter the danger of misinformation, the 'Misleading Information' category, along with the COVID-19 subcategory, was introduced in the in-app reporting feature. Users can participate in the campaign by providing help to this initiative by sharing videos with a specially developed and animated #MatKarForward sticker in-app.

The government has requested social media platforms to carry out further tests to curb the dissemination of false messages following the outbreak of COVID-19. The government has also asked these companies to delete the rogue messages that threaten its efforts in the fight against coronavirus.