Confusing pandemic messaging and new tech legislation proposed
A warm welcome to our new subscribers! This newsletter is a weekly roundup of misinformation news from around the world. For those of you that are returning Checklisters, you'll notice that we are reaching your inboxes at the beginning of the week instead of towards the end. Let us know what you think about the new schedule! This week we have stories about families spreading misinformation and big decisions being proposed about regulating content on social platforms. Plus, as always, we have Dr. Seema Yasmin's highlights from the COVID-19 Expert Database, talking about zoonotic diseases and asymptomatic transmission. Don't forget to share the Checklist with your friends and family! Happy reading.
Top COVID-19 questions
Journalist and medical doctor, Dr. Seema Yasmin shares weekly highlights from Meedan's COVID-19 Expert Database
Scientists are warning about an increase in 'zoonotic diseases' that impact humans. Why?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases that can spread from animals to humans. "Spillover events" (when a disease jumps from an animal to a human) have been known to cause outbreaks, like ebola virus disease. Scientists are increasingly worried about these types of zoonotic diseases because they are growing in frequency. In some cases, details about the spillover event is unknown, like in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Also, as humans expand in the environment through globalization and infringement on undeveloped natural environments, like forests or jungles, the risk for exposure to zoonotic disease increases. Other factors such as the exotic animal trade, the impacts of climate change, and the expansion animal markets can also cause zoonotic diseases to spread more rapidly and widely.
Seema says: "Diseases that spread from animals to humans, which are known as zoonotic infections, make up 60 percent of human infections and account for three in four emerging diseases. Ebola, SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and Lyme disease are just a few examples of zoonoses. When epidemiologists run practice exercises to predict and plan for global pandemics, they typically imagine a scenario where a novel bird or swine flu, or a novel coronavirus, makes its way from animals to humans. With no treatments or vaccine quickly available to treat or prevent a new disease, humans are vulnerable to death, morbidity, and chronic health problems from these infections. Zoonotic diseases are not new but as deforestation continues and humans increasingly encroach on animal habitats, the likelihood of more frequent zoonotic outbreaks increases. That's why One Health and Planetary Health approaches are crucial to bolstering human health. These approaches recognize the interconnectedness of animal health, the planet's health, and our health, realizing that imbalances in any one ecosystem have downstream consequences for us all."
Why are health experts worried about additional infectious disease outbreaks right now?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: The World Health Organization has noted that the COVID-19 pandemic is straining health programs that tackle other infectious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, or polio. Vaccine programs in lower-and-middle-income countries are at particular risk of being disrupted by the shift in resources toward COVID-19 response.
Seema says: "More than 6,000 people - 90 percent of them children - have died from measles in the world's worst measles epidemic which began in the Democractic Republic of Congo last year. The DRC continues to battle a two-year-long Ebola epidemic. And in Chad, a measles epidemic has raged for two years. None of these tragic epidemics has garnered much international press coverage. A global health emergency can divert funds and attention away from long-standing, health problems that need continued focus. Disease exceptionalism - a spotlight on one condition at the expense of others - is not a new phenomenon. We saw it with the HIV/AIDS crisis when billions of dollars were poured into HIV-specific programs while neglecting malaria, childhood diarrheal diseases, and other significant causes of morbidity and mortality. A state of crisis can immobilize healthcare programs such as vaccination campaigns, which rely on the free movement of vaccinators and the availability of equipment. Childhood vaccination rates have decreased in some U.S. states since the pandemic began, leaving children vulnerable to diseases such as measles, whooping cough and rubella. Globally, an estimated 80 million babies are at risk of diseases such as polio because of the suspension of mass vaccination campaigns in more than 60 countries."
Can COVID-19 be transmitted by a person who shows no symptoms?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that 40% of COVID-19 cases are potentially spread by people who are pre-symptomatic. Other people infected with COVID-19 may never show symptoms at all and are called "asymptomatic". Asymptomatic people are still contagious throughout the time they are infected with the virus until their body clears it. The CDC estimates that 35% of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic.
Seema says: "This question highlights the changing - and challenging - information ecosystem around COVID-19. Just two months ago, trusted health officials in the U.S. said asymptomatic transmission was not and would not be a driver of the pandemic. But it's now understood that 20 to 50 percent of people with COVID-19 may not show symptoms and may shed virus for potentially longer periods than people with symptoms. Reopening economies and lifting shelter-in-place orders has meant more mixing among people, including those who might presume they are not contagious because they feel healthy. Supporting fact checking organizations requires tracking multiple studies and diligently monitoring for changes in the basic understanding of COVID-19 transmission so that the public is informed about the latest discoveries and empowered to protect their health and their communities wellbeing."
Top stories
When Your Family Spreads Misinformation (The Atlantic)
People are quicker to share misinformation with those they're closest to, psychologists say, and family WhatsApp threads are no exception to the rule. Khushbu Shah talks about some of the harmful pieces of content that are shared on her family's channels.
“A 2019 study found that only 21 percent of people surveyed in the U.K. reported correcting others who shared false or inaccurate information. That number is likely to be even smaller in family group chats [...] because it is inherently uncomfortable to disagree with those close to you—think of the way people dread having to deal with their argumentative uncles on Thanksgiving. “There is this psychological force of us all kind of wanting to conform a little bit and not stick out,” O’Connor said. “Within families, it can be a powerful force. When someone is saying, ‘Oh, I believe X,’ it pushes others just to accept it rather than to say, ‘Well, you’re wrong about X.’”— Khushbu Shah, the Atlantic
Justice Department recommends new legislation holding Facebook, Google and Twitter liable for some online content (Washington Post)
Last week the U.S. Justice Department urged Congress to adopt new legislation that could punish Facebook, Google and Twitter for a harmful content posted on their platforms. The suggested move is in contrast to the current legal immunity that Silicon Valley says is critical to the future of the Internet.
"The new legislation would target Section 230, a decades-old portion of law that spares social media sites from being held liable for the posts, photos and videos uploaded to their sites by their users. The proposal would pave the way for steep sanctions on major online platforms if they don’t act to remove a range of illicit content, from child exploitation to terrorism, according to Justice Department officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday," — Tony Romm, Washington Post
Coronavirus: fake news less of a problem than confusing government messages (The Conversation)
In response to the Jair Bolsonaro government's decision to restrict access to data on the Covid-19 pandemic, journalists from a number of different media outlets decided to form a partnership and work collaboratively to seek out COVID-19 data and information. The teams will share tasks and information so that Brazilians can know how the disease and the case numbers are evolving in the country.
"'The mission of journalism is to inform. In spite of the natural dispute between vehicles, the moment of the pandemic requires an effort for Brazilians to have the most correct number of infected people and deaths', says Ali Kamel, Globo's director of journalism. (TV Globo, GloboNews and G1 ) 'In light of the stance of the Ministry of Health, the press has this objective: to give Brazilians a faithful number."
— Ali Kamel, Globo