From 5G cell towers to billionaire Bill Gates, conspiracy theories and misinformation have run rampant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We Don’t Even Have A COVID-19 Vaccine, And Yet The Conspiracies Are Here
Even as vaccines for the disease are being held up as the last hope for a return to normalcy, misinformation about them is spreading.
The Epidemiology Of Misinformation
The disturbing story of how the web is weaving weird connections between hippies, Nazis, Russian agents and the rest of us to spread lies about Covid-19
Study Shows How Misinformation Spreads Online And Fuels Distrust
A recent study by physicist and Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics affiliate Neil Johnson explores how the views of anti-vaccine groups tend to spread more widely on social media than pro-vaccination views, increasing the chances of reaching people who are undecided on the subject.
First ‘Map’ of Vaccine Battlegrounds On Social Media Shows How Dire Things Have Become
War metaphors are a common cliché in medicine. But sometimes nothing else will do. A battle is looming, one with real lives at risk, and if a new map of the battlefield is anything to go by, losses will be anything but small.
YouTube, Facebook Posts Show Inaccurate Scientific Claims – Studies
Two studies found that popular social media posts are filled with inaccuracies about science, which can be damaging to public health amid coronavirus pandemic, as reported by CNN.
Anti-vaccine Forces Gaining Online
A first-of-its-kind analysis of more than 1300 Facebook pages with nearly 100 million followers has produced a network map that’s alarming public health professionals.
COVID-19: Top Science Stories Of The Week, From Genetics To Herd Immunity
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released new guidance on controversial challenge trials in which healthy volunteers would be deliberately infected with COVID-19.
Social Media Rules. That’s Bad In A Pandemic
Popular social media posts are filled with inaccuracies about science. They could damage public health during this coronavirus pandemic, the authors of two separate studies say.
How The Anti-Vaxxers Could Win The COVID Information War
We’re facing two nightmare scenarios for the future of the COVID-19 global pandemic.