CNN has been reporting somewhat gleefully on Twitter’s role in hyping swine flu and spreading misinformation. Around 5pm this evening @JSmith_CNN posted this tweet: “Is Twitter over-hyping the swine flu scare? Watch CNN‘s American Morning tomorrow to find out #swineflu” (Should I watch CNN or perhaps just follow #swineflu and make up my own mind?)

And today, NPR reposted an opinion piece by Evgeny Morozov from Foreignpolicy.com on Twitter’s Power to Misinform. 

                […] In the context of a global pandemic — where media networks are doing their best to spice up an already serious threat — having millions of people wrap up all their fears into 140 characters and blurt them out in the public might have some dangerous consequences, networked panic being one of them.

For anyone who’s been following #swineflu on Twitter, it can feel indeed as if there’s mass hysteria around the swine flu outbreak. But panic? Read more…