BuzzFeed News: Here’s How One Of Facebook’s Biggest Anti-Vax Communities Built Its Massive Network. “While Facebook is mulling over exactly how to combat a topic as complex and emotional as the anti-vaccination misinformation, members of its community continue to use the site’s tools to promote themselves. For a clear look at how this simple, ad-driven feedback loop works, let’s take a look at ‘Stop Mandatory Vaccination,’ one of the more prolific Facebook communities for anti-vaxxers.”
epidemics
BloombergQuint: Lawmaker Questions Google and Facebook About Anti-Vaccine Information
BloombergQuint: Lawmaker Questions Google and Facebook About Anti-Vaccine Information. “Democratic Representative Adam Schiff sent a letter to Google LLC Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai and Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, expressing concern that their platforms are carrying information discouraging parents from vaccinating their children.”
The Guardian: Facebook under pressure to halt rise of anti-vaccination groups
The Guardian: Facebook under pressure to halt rise of anti-vaccination groups. “Facebook is under pressure to stem the rise of anti-vaccination groups spreading false information about the dangers of life-saving vaccines while peddling unfounded alternative treatments such as high doses of vitamin C. So-called ‘anti-vaxxers’ are operating on Facebook in closed groups, where members have to be approved in advance. By barring access to others, they are able to serve undiluted misinformation without challenge.” Interestingly I just found this notice in my Maine.gov RSS feed about fake anti-vaccine flyers purportedly coming from the CDC.
EurekAlert: HepVu Releases state-level maps showing impact of h=Hepatitis C epidemic across the US
EurekAlert: HepVu Releases state-level maps showing impact of h=Hepatitis C epidemic across the US . “Today, HepVu launched new interactive maps visualizing state-level estimates of people living with Hepatitis C across the United States that highlight a concentration of infections in some states most impacted by the opioid epidemic. Published in JAMA Network Open, the data reveal an estimated 2.3 million people living with Hepatitis C infection in the U.S. between 2013 and 2016, with a high burden in the West and in some Appalachian states.”
CNET: CDC 1918 Pandemic Trail game is Oregon Trail with the flu
CNET: CDC 1918 Pandemic Trail game is Oregon Trail with the flu. “You’re a letter carrier in Philadelphia. The year is 1918. Your mission is to stay alive for one day during the most devastating influenza pandemic in history. Choose wisely. Your life depends on it.”
New Zealand Herald: The killer that claimed more lives than WWI
New Zealand Herald: The killer that claimed more lives than WWI. “For decades, most of the influenza victims’ graves in Wellington’s Karori Cemetery lay neglected and overgrown. Many people lay in unmarked graves, while some had been disinterred and their remains put elsewhere as no one had paid for their grave or marker. Now genealogists have created a new website… which documents the 660 flu victims who are buried there. The genealogists have researched and documented 160 of the victims’ lives in intimate detail.”
Science Speaks: Site provides global view of outbreak preparedness
Science Speaks: Site provides global view of outbreak preparedness. “A project of Resolve to Save Lives, the initiative launched by former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden, [the website] calls itself ‘the world’s first website to provide clear and concise country-level data on epidemic preparedness.’ In addition to country level scores on national abilities to identify, monitor, and control outbreaks, it provides up-to-date news of current outbreaks.”
