Eurasia Review: ‘Foreign Disinformation’ Social Media Campaigns Linked To Falling Vaccination Rates . “‘Foreign disinformation’ social media campaigns are linked to falling vaccination rates, reveals an international time trends analysis, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health. Every 1 point increase in effort is tied to an average 2% drop in annual coverage around the globe, and a 15% increase in the number of negative tweets about vaccination, shows the study, which forms part of a BMJ Collection on Democracy and Health published for the World Health Summit this weekend.”
health misinformation
CNN: More people have died from Covid-19 than in the past 5 flu seasons combined. And coronavirus is much more contagious
CNN: More people have died from Covid-19 than in the past 5 flu seasons combined. And coronavirus is much more contagious. “…in just eight months, Covid-19 has killed more people than the flu did during the last five flu seasons combined. As for Trump’s claim that the flu kills ‘sometimes over 100,000’ people a year, CDC data from 1976 to 2007 and from 2010 until now show that’s not even close. There are several more reasons why Covid-19 is more dangerous than the flu — and why extra precautions are needed.”
Washington Post: The pandemic is amplifying the U.S. anti-vaccine movement — and globalizing it
Washington Post: The pandemic is amplifying the U.S. anti-vaccine movement — and globalizing it. “A nephew of President John F. Kennedy rallied a German crowd against big pharma and Bill Gates. American conspiracy theories have spurred anti-vaccine protests in Canada and Britain. A California-made video seeded ‘plandemic’ panic around the world. The coronavirus crisis is energizing America’s anti-vaccine movement and expanding its reach.”
NBC News: Trump repeats inaccurate claim about masks, citing CDC study
NBC News: Trump repeats inaccurate claim about masks, citing CDC study. “President Donald Trump is again questioning the effectiveness of masks in protecting against catching the coronavirus. On Thursday, he repeated an incorrect claim about masks, citing a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Phys .org: Game ‘pre-bunks’ COVID-19 conspiracies as part of UK’s fight against fake news
Phys .org: Game ‘pre-bunks’ COVID-19 conspiracies as part of UK’s fight against fake news. “A new online game that puts players in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news is the latest tactic in efforts to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation costing lives across the world. The Go Viral! game has been developed by the University of Cambridge’s Social Decision-Making Lab in collaboration with the UK Cabinet Office and media collective DROG.”
CNN: Facebook removes Trump post falsely saying flu is more lethal than Covid
CNN: Facebook removes Trump post falsely saying flu is more lethal than Covid. “Facebook on Tuesday removed a post from President Trump in which he falsely claimed that Covid-19 is less deadly than the seasonal flu. Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the company removed the post for breaking its rules on Covid-19 misinformation.”
FactCheck: Trump Misleads on Reasons for Falling COVID-19 Fatality Rate
FactCheck: Trump Misleads on Reasons for Falling COVID-19 Fatality Rate. “For nearly two months, President Donald Trump has touted an 85% decline in the nation’s COVID-19 case fatality rate since April — and has attributed the drop to improvements in treatment. But better treatment is only part of the story.”
Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump (New York Times)
New York Times: Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump. “Of the flood of misinformation, conspiracy theories and falsehoods seeding the internet on the coronavirus, one common thread stands out: President Trump. That is the conclusion of researchers at Cornell University who analyzed 38 million articles about the pandemic in English-language media around the world.”
TheStreet: Former CDC Director on How to Combat Fake News About COVID-19
TheStreet: Former CDC Director on How to Combat Fake News About COVID-19. “Fake news has become more and more of an issue in recent times, and this includes Facebook posts around how COVID-19 is spread, misleading information about the death count and more. And with all of this information, how can both the mainstream media and public health officials counter misinformation for fake news especially the stories that could put lives at risk?”
NBC News: Letter targets minorities on Long Island with coronavirus vaccine misinformation, state senator says
NBC News: Letter targets minorities on Long Island with coronavirus vaccine misinformation, state senator says. “A New York state senator issued a warning to residents of suburban Nassau County about a letter that falsely claims the government is looking for ‘minorities to experiment on’ with the coronavirus vaccines. The letter was taped to the doors of dozens of homes on the North Shore of Long Island on Saturday, state Sen. Anna Kaplan said in a press release that included a redacted copy of the full letter.”
Scientific American: A Grassroots Effort to Fight Misinformation During the Pandemic
Scientific American: A Grassroots Effort to Fight Misinformation During the Pandemic. “During the height of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, with misinformation permeating every form of media, members of the public were growing increasingly concerned for their health and seeking answers about the virus, its mode of transmission and how to protect themselves and their loved ones. Five organizations came together, recruited hundreds of volunteer scientists and built a new tool to get the best scientific information in plain language to millions of people around the world. This is the story of that project.”
A new front in coronavirus disinformation: Wall Street research (CNN)
CNN: A new front in coronavirus disinformation: Wall Street research. “Coronavirus misinformation is infecting the unlikeliest of places: Wall Street research that investors rely on to trade in the financial markets. In an early August note to clients, an analyst at a research firm called Fundstrat Global Advisors, which distributes widely-read reports and analysis to investors, cited a series of tweets by an ophthalmologist named James Todaro who painted a rosy picture of the US population’s potential for developing herd immunity to coronavirus.”
Coronavirus: False claims test kits for ‘Covid-19’ were sold in 2017 (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: False claims test kits for ‘Covid-19’ were sold in 2017. “A database of worldwide shipments of chemical supplies created in 2020, but going back to 2015, did refer to their use for ‘Covid-19 kits’. The World Bank, one of the international organisations responsible for maintaining the list, says this was because these previously existing products are now being used for Covid-19 testing. The website has now been changed and a clarification issued.”
AJC: Officials say some Georgians treat COVID with bleach-like cleaner
AJC: Officials say some Georgians treat COVID with bleach-like cleaner. “Chlorine dioxide products have not been shown to be safe and effective for any use. The governor’s office said products are being marketed under various names: Aqueous Chlorine Dioxide, CDS, Master Mineral Solution, Miracle Mineral Solution, MSS, Water Purification Solution and others. Health officials said taking chlorine dioxide products can lead to respiratory failure, fatal abnormal heart rhythms, life-threatening low blood pressure, liver failure, low blood cell counts, and severe vomiting and diarrhea.”
Coronavirus: The US has not reduced its Covid-19 death toll to 6% of total (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: The US has not reduced its Covid-19 death toll to 6% of total. “The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has been deluged with queries about false rumours the official tally of Covid-19 deaths is drastically lower than the publicised headline figure of about 185,000. Social-media posts making this bogus claim have been circulating widely on the internet. And one re-tweeted by President Trump was removed by Twitter for breaching its guidelines.”