Vaccine misinformation challenges and positive action by Facebook and Reddit
Hello Checklisters! Welcome to the weekly misinformation roundup from around the world. We're happy to see new subscribers here.
This week we have news and updates from social media platforms; we track the impact of actions or inactions by platforms on COVID-19 misinformation. Do you need quick tips for not spreading online misinformation? Join our event on July 23, 2020. We're hosting a book talk and webinar with author Gus Andrews about her new book Keep Calm and Log On. You can sign up here for the event at which we'll talk about achieving online mindfulness and overcoming online helplessness—the feeling that tech is out of control—with tips for handling cybersecurity, creepy ads, untrustworthy information, and much more.
Top COVID-19 questions
Journalist and medical doctor, Dr. Seema Yasmin shares weekly highlights from Meedan's COVID-19 Expert Database
What do we know so far about airborne transmission and how does it differ from respiratory droplet transmission?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: There is mounting evidence that COVID-19 can spread in poorly ventilated, indoor spaces through tiny droplets called 'droplet nuclei' released by coughing, sneezing or talking, which can remain suspended in the air and pose a risk of exposure to people in close proximity. This is different from the prevailing theory that the virus spreads through respiratory droplets that are heavier, fall to the ground relatively quickly, and do not remain suspended in the air or spread through the air. On July 9, 2020, the WHO has acknowledged that certain medical procedures can cause COVID-19 to be spread through airborne transmission. The group also noted that the potential for COVID-19 to spread through the air in crowded, indoor spaces that are inadequately ventilated "cannot be ruled out." The WHO stated that more studies are urgently needed on this topic and reiterated their stance that the virus is primarily spread through contact and respiratory droplets.
Seema says: "More than 200 scientists from 32 countries wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization in July asking it to acknowledge airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This public debate among scientists reignited confusion over the terms airborne, aerosol and droplet, and what exactly scientists agree and disagree on when it comes to viral spread. The term airborne typically refers to viruses such as measles which spread in very small particles, light enough to hang in the air for hours after an infected person has coughed in a room. (It’s possible to become infected with measles in an empty room if an infected person sneezed or coughed in the room two hours earlier.) Respiratory droplets are larger – at least 5 microns in diameter (about the size of a red blood cell). Because of their larger size, droplets are too heavy to linger in air and instead, they fall to the ground within six feet of a person’s mouth or nose. But these larger droplets still move through the air – just for a shorter distance. The current debate is focused on droplet size which determines how far a virus might spread and how long it might hang in the air. In response to the letter, the WHO acknowledged that airborne transmission via very small droplets, smaller than 5 microns, might occur, but that it still believes larger droplets cause most infections. It can be wearying for the public to witness a lack of consensus among scientists about something as critical as how the virus spreads. Ongoing scientific debates require frequent updates as journalists and fact-checkers seek to present the latest evidence in ways that can avoid confusion and help people make informed decisions about their health."
What is pool testing and why is it being used?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: Pool testing, distinct from individual testing, tests a pool (or group) of people at the same time and is a form of testing that has been used for diseases like HIV/AIDS before the current COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, when a COVID-19 test is done using a nasal swab on a patient, that sample is then tested individually to determine if the virus is present, and this can take anywhere from 15 minutes to several days, depending on the abilities of the lab running the test. With pool testing, anywhere from roughly 3 - 50 samples are combined and all of the swabs are tested at once. If the test result from that pool test is negative, then all patients in that pool do not have the virus. If the result is positive, then each swab must then be tested one-by-one.
Seema says: "Pooling tests means grouping specimens from multiple people to save time and resources. For example, in a school of 100 children, swabs from 10 children could be mixed and tested using one test kit for a total of 10 tests. If one test comes back positive, one of the 10 people in that pool is positive and needs to be re-tested. In countries like the U.S. where resources are scarce and some hospitals are running low on basic testing equipment such as swabs, pooling increases testing capacity and conserves precious resources. But there are at least two downsides. First, mixing specimens from multiple people can dilute the virus to the point that the testing machine does not detect it. This increases the chance of false negative results. (One way to work around this is to conduct testing more frequently. But if the point of pooling is to save resources, this doesn’t work.) Second, pooled testing works best as a surveillance tool in a population with a low disease prevalence, which rules out hotspots such as Houston, Dallas and Miami, where increased testing is needed. In these areas, pooled testing would return too many positives to be useful for surveillance."
What do we know about the new strain of this virus that is more infectious than the first strains?
From the COVID-19 Expert Database: A recent handful of studies have claimed that newer strains of the COVID-19 virus in Europe and the United States spread more rapidly and are more infectious than the original strain of the virus that was first discovered in Asia in early 2020. However, at least one of these studies has yet to be peer-reviewed or published. As of now, there is no scientific consensus on these findings nor is there enough evidence to determine if they are accurate.
Viruses constantly change as they reproduce in order to keep spreading into more cells. These changes are called "mutations," and though most mutations are not helpful to the virus, the changes that help the virus reproduce help the virus spread. These mutations create a new form of the virus, and each updated version we call a "strain." In the case of COVID-19, this new strain is called the 'G614' and it impacts something called the "spike proteins" of the virus; the spiky parts on the outside of all coronaviruses that helps them get into the body of a person and attach to and infect more cells. The G614 strain has more spike proteins and they are less likely to break off from the virus when it is trying to invade the human body, so it is more likely to infect the person who has been exposed to it. In the earliest strains of the virus scientists were able to find, they agreed that these proteins were already very efficient and helped the virus infect millions of people through its use. With this new change in the number and strength of these spikes, researchers believe the G614 strain of the virus is roughly 10 times more infectious than the earliest versions studied in laboratories.
However, these recent studies have shown that though it is easier for the new strain of the virus to infect people, it does not make these infections any worse or better than the other strains of COVID-19. So even if you are more likely to get sick from the virus, your chances of having severe symptoms are the same as they have always been, and you will most likely have a mild to moderate case.
Seema says: "A mutated version of SARS-CoV-2 has also been the topic of scientific debate for months. Scientists have identified a single amino acid change in the spike protein of the virus. The spike is the part of the virus that latches on to our cells to cause infection and it’s made of around 1,300 amino acids. The one amino acid change – from an aspartate molecule to glycine – makes the spike more robust and less likely to break, says the team of British and American scientists whose earlier conclusions about mutated SARS-CoV-2 had been criticized by their peers. In a paper published in mid-July, the scientists say the mutant virus is up to six times more infectious than the early version of SARS-CoV-2 which spread in Wuhan, China. While it might me more infectious, the mutation does not appear to make people sicker, as seen from a lack of association between the glycine version of the virus and hospitalization rates."
Top stories
One group that’s really benefitted from Covid-19: Anti-vaxxers (Nieman Lab)
Covid-19 has been a growth opportunity for anti-vaccination sites. A report titled 'The Anti-Vaxx Industry: How Big Tech powers and profits from vaccine misinformation' was released by the U.K.-based nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) notes the following:
An investigation of 409 English language anti-vaxx social media accounts shows that they now have 58 million followers. For 147 of the largest accounts, with 49 million followers, the calculation shows that that they have gained at least 7.8 million followers since 2019, an increase of 19 per cent.
The movement is strongest on Facebook. In the sample, anti-vaxx Facebook groups and pages command over 31 million followers, well over half of the combined following of all the accounts studied. Anti-vaxx accounts have nearly 17 million subscribers on YouTube and 7 million on Instagram, but appear to be weakest on Twitter where they have 2 million followers.
Social media use and vaccine refusal are linked. Amongst those who use social media more than traditional media to access news and updates about Covid, 63 percent in the UK and 56 percent in the US say they will definitely or probably get a vaccine. This compares to 72 percent in the UK and 66 percent in the US amongst those who get more information from traditional rather than social media.
"Lies cost lives. Just as people around the world have hunkered down and taken steps to protect our communities, it’s beyond time for the social media companies to finally do their bit." — Imran Ahmed CEO, CCDH
Facebook removes inauthentic network linked to Bolsonaro allies (DFR Lab)
Facebook announced on July 8, 2020, that it removed a network of accounts, pages, and one group closely connected to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the party that propelled him into office, the right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL).
The company stated the network is linked to employees of the offices of Bolsonaro and his sons Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro — who serve in Brazil’s Lower House and the Senate, respectively — as well as two PSL state lawmakers, Alana Passos and Anderson Moraes. The DFRLab could not confirm the links to Flávio Bolsonaro, but found that one member of the network is connected to a third son, Carlos Bolsonaro, and another is employed by Coronel Nishikawa, also a state legislator from PSL. The assets removed had a combined audience of more than 2 million accounts.
"We found this activity as part of our investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior in Brazil reported on by press and referenced in recent congressional testimony in Brazil. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to individuals associated with the Social Liberal Party and some of the employees of the offices of Anderson Moraes, Alana Passos, Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flavio Bolsonaro and Jair Bolsonaro." — Facebook
Reddit moderators spent years asking for help fighting hate. The company may finally be listening (Los Angeles Times)
Reddit’s move to overhaul content policy and ban some 2,000 subreddits, or forums, is one of the most sweeping enforcement actions the company has taken to date. The bans — which coincided with a wave of aggressive moves by other large internet platforms including Facebook and YouTube — came after hundreds of Reddit moderators signed a letter urging the company to take racism seriously. It also followed the resignation this month of Alexis Ohanian, one of Reddit’s co-founders, from the company’s board of directors. Ohanian, who said he had been moved by the protests over the killing of George Floyd, asked that his board seat be filled by a Black candidate.
For moderators, who had spent years trying in vain to get the ear of Reddit’s corporate leaders, the effect of this sudden shift was as if the brick wall they’d been pushing on suddenly transformed into a swinging door.
"When you have high-profile current events, all of these levers can be pulled, which enables more significant, drastic changes." — Kat Lo, a researcher who studies online content moderation at the nonprofit Meedan
What’s new at Meedan
Book Talk and Webinar: Keep Calm and Log On with author Gus Andrews
Join Keep Calm and Log On author Gus Andrews in conversation with Memes to Movements author An Xiao Mina about her new book, published by MIT Press.
Thursday, 23 July, 2020. Live on Zoom
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Meedan supports African non-profits, others to tackle COVID-19 misinformation
Meedan's COVID-19 microgrants support 25 organisations as part of our efforts to tackle health misinformation. At least eight of the non-profits are from Africa including Nigeria’s Peoples Check, a student-run fact-checking organisation based in Lagos.