spread

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Fueled By The Pandemic Fentanyl Spread Across The US And Drove Opioid Overdose Deaths To A Grim New High

Andrew Kolodny, Brandeis University For the past 20 years, I have been engaged in efforts to end the opioid epidemic, as a public health official, researcher and clinician. And for every one of those years I have looked on as the number of deaths from drug overdoses has set a new record high. Yet even knowing that trend I was surprised by the latest tally from the CDC showing that for the first time ever, the number of Americans who fatally overdosed over the course of a year surpassed 100,000. In a 12-month period ending at the end of April 2021, some 100,306 died in the U.S., up 28.5% over the same period a year earlier. The soaring death toll has been fueled by a much more dangerous black market opioid supply. Illicitly synthesized fentanyl – a potent and inexpensive opioid that has ...

How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem

10Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

How Search Engines Spread Misinformation – It’s Not Just A Social Media Problem

Search engines are one of society’s primary gateways to information and people, but they are also conduits for misinformation. Similar to problematic social media algorithms, search engines learn to serve you what you and others have clicked on before. Because people are drawn to the sensational, this dance between algorithms and human nature can foster the spread of misinformation. Search engines often serve up a distorting blend of information and misinformation. Crispin la valiente/Moment via Getty Images, CC BY-ND Search engine companies, like most online services, make money not only by selling ads, but also by tracking users and selling their data through real-time bidding on it. People are often led to misinformation by their desire for sensational and entertaining news as well as ...

Bots Spread Conspiracy Theories And QAnon Talking Points On Twitter

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

Bots Spread Conspiracy Theories And QAnon Talking Points On Twitter

Americans who seek political insight and information on Twitter should know how much of what they are seeing is the result of automated propaganda campaigns. Nearly four years after my collaborators and I revealed how automated Twitter accounts were distorting online election discussions in 2016, the situation appears to be no better. That’s despite the efforts of policymakers, technology companies and even the public to root out disinformation campaigns on social media. In our latest study, we collected 240 million election-related tweets mentioning presidential candidates and election-related keywords, posted between June 20 and Sept. 9, 2020. We looked for activity from automated (or bot) accounts, and the spread of distorted or conspiracy theory narratives. We learned that on Twitte...

How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors

10Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors

The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, most of it from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home or business would be to simply keep infected people away. But this is hard to do when an estimated 40% of cases are asymptomatic and asymptomatic people can still spread the coronavirus to others. Masks do a decent job at keeping the virus from spreading into the environment, but if an infected person is inside a building, inevitably some virus will escape into the air. I am a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Much of my work has focused on how to control the transmission of airborne infectious diseases indoors, and I’ve been asked by my own univer...

How to stop touching your face to minimize spread of coronavirus and other germs

23Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

How to stop touching your face to minimize spread of coronavirus and other germs

Public health officials consistently promote hand-washing as a way for people to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, this virus can live on metal and plastic for days, so simply adjusting your eyeglasses with unwashed hands may be enough to infect yourself. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have been telling people to stop touching their faces. We are experts in psychological science and public health. Brian Labus is an expert in communicable diseases who knows what people should do to avoid becoming infected. Stephen Benning is a clinical psychologist who helps clients change their habits and manage stress in healthy ways. Kimberly Barchard is an expert in research methods who wanted to know what the research say...

Malicious bots and trolls spread vaccine misinformation – now social media companies are fighting back

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

Malicious bots and trolls spread vaccine misinformation – now social media companies are fighting back

Social media have become one of the preeminent ways of disseminating accurate information about vaccines. However, a lot of the vaccine information propagated across social media in the United States has been inaccurate or misleading. At a time when vaccine-preventable diseases are on the rise, vaccine misinformation has become a cause of concern to public health officials. At least half of parents of young children report having encountered negative messages about vaccines on social media. Alexander Dummer/Unsplash, CC BY A 2018 study showed that a lot of anti-vaccine information is generated by malicious automated programs – known as bots – and online trolls. In a striking parallel with the 2016 presidential campaign and the 2018 midterm elections, some vaccine misinformation on America...

Stop Trump Commercials – Spread Messages of Truth, Unity and Love

9Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

Stop Trump Commercials – Spread Messages of Truth, Unity and Love

Since Donald Trump took the presidency, more people took to the streets to protest his policies. In fact, just a day after his inauguration, a record-breaking protest was held at the same spot where he was inaugurated. Hundreds upon thousands of women marched in Washington, DC to support women's rights and other important issues. Parallel rallies were held across the country, and even outside the US. Despite the strong messages against Trump and his agenda, it didn't deter him. In fact, he has continued signing executive orders favoring big businesses and oil companies, while placing the environment and middle-class workers at risk. The good thing is that some businesses have also taken measures against Trump. In a powerful rebuke against his controversial policies, these businesses have...