Friday, April 26

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Beware Of ‘Shark Week’: Scientists Watched 202 Episodes And Found Them Filled With Junk Science, Misinformation And White Male ‘Experts’ Named Mike
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ENVIRONMENT

Beware Of ‘Shark Week’: Scientists Watched 202 Episodes And Found Them Filled With Junk Science, Misinformation And White Male ‘Experts’ Named Mike

The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week is the longest-running cable television series in history, filling screens with sharky content every summer since 1988. It causes one of the largest temporary increases in U.S. viewers’ attention to any science or conservation topic. It’s also the largest stage in marine biology, giving scientists who appear on it access to an audience of millions. Being featured by high-profile media outlets can help researchers attract attention and funding that can help super-charge their careers. Hammerhead sharks schooling near Costa Rica’s Cocos Island. John Voo/Flickr, CC BY Unfortunately, Shark Week is also a missed opportunity. As scientists and conservationists have long argued, it is a major source of misinformation and nonsense about sharks, the scient...
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Celebrity Crypto Scam Ads On Facebook – The ACCC Is Suing Meta Here’s Why The Tech Giant Could Be Found Liable
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BUSINESS

Celebrity Crypto Scam Ads On Facebook – The ACCC Is Suing Meta Here’s Why The Tech Giant Could Be Found Liable

On the last day of his 11 years as chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims announced the commission is bringing a “world-first” claim against Meta (owner of Facebook) in the Federal Court for false or misleading conduct. The ACCC alleges Meta failed to take sufficient steps to stop displaying scam cryptocurrency ads on Facebook in 2019, even after receiving complaints. Sims said the ads led to more than A$650,000 in losses for one consumer. “Those visits to landing pages from ads generate substantial revenue for Facebook,” Sims said. Almost a decade ago, the ACCC failed in an arguably similar misleading conduct claim against Google. This time, however, the commission has some new arguments that focus on Facebook’s business of targeting ads at particu...
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We Found Dangerous And Stigmatizing Stereotypes Prevail While Studying Depression Messages On YouTube Videos
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, SOCIETY, VIDEO REELS

We Found Dangerous And Stigmatizing Stereotypes Prevail While Studying Depression Messages On YouTube Videos

Rates of depression have tripled in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recent estimates suggest these numbers remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic rates of mental health problems. Even before the pandemic, depression was a leading source of disability, affecting over 17 million Americans each year. In a society where mental health education is not uniformly taught in schools, and where most people with depression go untreated, this is a recipe for disaster. Psychologists have proposed ways to reform mental health care such as increasing access to care through telehealth. These actions are important. However, few experts have provided recommendations for how everyday citizens can flatten the depression curve by reducing stigma. To better understand why ...
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How A Small Clinic In Indiana Found Ways To Overcome Latinos Reluctant To Get Flu Shots
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HEALTH & WELLNESS, VIDEO REELS

How A Small Clinic In Indiana Found Ways To Overcome Latinos Reluctant To Get Flu Shots

Every year, tens of millions of Americans avoid the flu vaccine. During the 2019-2020 flu season, fewer than half of U.S. adults got the shot. The Latino population is more reluctant than most other groups to get the flu vaccine and often pays a high price with their health. An analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of 10 flu seasons showed the Latino community had the third highest flu-related hospitalization rates of any demographic group. As professors and researchers who study public health, we want to know why the Latino population, in particular, is so wary of the vaccine. Here are a few reasons: Latinos worry about whether the shot is safe. They wonder if it works. They question whether it’s actually needed. Confidence in the vaccine is a major predictor of in...
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Is the COVID-19 pandemic cure really worse than the disease? Here’s what our research found
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COVID-19

Is the COVID-19 pandemic cure really worse than the disease? Here’s what our research found

The coronavirus pandemic catapulted the country into one of the deepest recessions in U.S. history, leaving millions of Americans without jobs or health insurance. There is a lot of evidence that economic hardship is associated with poor health and can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, cognitive dysfunction and early death. All of that raises a question: Is the U.S. better off with the public health interventions being used to keep the coronavirus from spreading or without them? In a new working paper, I and a team of health economists from U.S. universities set out to answer that question from a humanitarian perspective. To do that, we reviewed the latest data and scientific research about the virus to evaluate the number of lives saved if public healt...
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IN OTHER NEWS

Two charged in death of missing girl found in rubbish

Announcement marks the sorrowful conclusion to a search for the missing girl, a disappearance that gripped Alabama. An undated file photo shows suspect Patrick Devone Stallworth [Birmingham Police Department via AP] Police say they will charge two people with kidnapping and capital murder in the death of a three-year-old Alabama girl whose body was found amid rubbish 10 days after being kidnapped outside a birthday party. According to Smith, police were obtaining murder warrants against two people previously identified as persons of interest in the case: 39-year-old Patrick Devone Stallworth and his 29-year-old girlfriend Derick Irisha Brown. Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said at a news conference the body of a child, believed to be Kamille Mc...
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How a Black Farming Community Found Justice
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

How a Black Farming Community Found Justice

Black families in the South are doing important work to continue the legacy of Black farming communities. Shirley Sherrod co-founded New Communities, a Black farming community in rural Georgia. But at one time, she wanted to leave farming far behind. As a teenager, Sherrod dreamed of leaving the South. Her mind traveled North—away from the White sheriff, known as “The Gator,” who ruthlessly and violently patrolled the area’s Black residents. Away from her family’s farm and the backbreaking days spent picking cotton. Away from the segregated schools. “My goal was to try to get as far away from that whole system and as far away from the farm as I could,” she says. But in March 1965, her senior year of high school, Sherrod’s father was shot by a White farmer during a d...
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Charlottesville: DeAndre Harris found not guilty of assault
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Journalism

Charlottesville: DeAndre Harris found not guilty of assault

DeAndre Harris, beaten by white nationalists at August rally, cleared of misdemeanor assault and battery charges. DeAndre Harris, an African American beaten by at least six white nationalist demonstrators at the August 12 Unite the Right rally, has been found not guilty by a court in Charlottesville. Harris, whose case was decided by a judge on Friday, had been facing charges of misdemeanor assault and battery. His defence team had argued that he was acting in self-defense. A video of Harris's beating went viral in the days following the white nationalist rally, prompting an outcry. Harris was initially charged with a felony, but it was later reduced to a misdemeanor. Four of his attackers have also been charged. The rally was originally called to protest against the removal of statues...
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