The epistemic tragedy of coronavirus misinformation

Yesterday, four of the most powerful men on earth—Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook; Jeff Bezos, of Amazon; Tim Cook, of Apple; and Sundar Pichai, of Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube—were dragged to Capitol Hill (well, a videoconference) to answer to a subcommittee of the House of Representatives. As well as allegations of monopolistic practices, abuses of privacy, and political bias, lawmakers asked about the spread of misinformation on social media, including content related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat who chairs the subcommittee, grilled Zuckerberg on a nonsense-stuffed COVID video that went massively viral earlier this week before Facebook pulled it down. Cicilline accused Facebook of exploiting such harmful content to juice engagement. Zuckerberg denied this. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, also asked about the incident. He described a claim from the video as “a legitimate matter of discussion,” and wanted to know why Facebook had punished Donald Trump, Jr., for sharing it. Zuckerberg gently replied that Twitter, not Facebook, had acted against Trump, Jr. So such hearings go. The content that perturbed Cicilline and Sensenbrenner, for different reasons, was published on Monday by Breitbart, and featured a group of doctors, in immaculate medical garb, making far-from-immaculate claims, including that masks don’t work against COVID-19, and that hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-07-30 12:26:10 UTC ]
News tagged with: #local context #nieman reports #hearst

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The epistemic tragedy of coronavirus misinformation

Yesterday, four of the most powerful men on earth—Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook; Jeff Bezos, of Amazon; Tim Cook, of Apple; and Sundar Pichai, of Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube—were dragged to Capitol Hill (well, a videoconference) to answer to a subcommittee of the House of... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-07-30 12:26:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #local context #nieman reports #hearst


Coronavirus Live Updates: Book trade staffers tell of anxiety over coronavirus outbreak

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 20:14:36 UTC ]
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In the face of online misinformation, these teens are learning how to sort fact from fiction

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Will Haberman and Swan’s 2025 Trump book be a comedy or a tragedy?

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[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-27 13:59:34 UTC ]
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Women’s health needs advocates against misinformation, says ob-gyn and author

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[ CBC | 2023-03-08 22:24:00 UTC ]
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WhatsApp and other messaging services left out of new Australian misinformation code, regulator says

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Robert Goolrick, whose books explored tragedy and endurance, dies at 73

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[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-14 01:28:24 UTC ]
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The profiteers of the coronavirus pandemic

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[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-22 12:00:17 UTC ]
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Federal department gave money to magazine publishing pandemic misinformation

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[ CBC | 2022-03-11 09:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-17 13:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-17 13:00:00 UTC ]
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The other heroes of the coronavirus crisis: Central bankers

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-24 21:02:23 UTC ]
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[ The Washington Post | 2021-06-25 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Meg Mason | 'I hope that you get the sense that it is everybody’s tragedy'

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-12 23:02:14 UTC ]
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Amazon Has a Responsibility to Stop Anti-Trans Misinformation

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-03-08 09:49:14 UTC ]
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Bushfire article in the Australian that fuelled misinformation cleared by press council

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Michael Lewis writes 'stunning' coronavirus book for Allen Lane

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 20:37:13 UTC ]
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