Powerful Propaganda Machine Intended To Sow Division Likely Responsible For Half Of Virus Tweets
Scientists can't confirm if Russia or China are responsible for the bots on Twitter, but they say the strategy follows closely to the countries' known playbooks on sowing division in America. Researchers identified more than 100 false narratives about COVID-19 that are proliferating on Twitter by accounts controlled by bots. In other public health news, car fatalities, "artifacts" of the coronavirus era, PTSD in health workers, air travel and more.
NPR:
Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots
Nearly half of the Twitter accounts spreading messages on the social media platform about the coronavirus pandemic are likely bots, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said on Wednesday. Researchers culled through more than 200 million tweets since January discussing the virus and found that about 45% were sent by accounts that behave more like computerized robots than humans. (Allyn, 5/20)
NPR:
As States Locked Down In March, Motor Vehicle Fatality Rate Spiked By 14%
In March, as states around the country began implementing stay-at-home orders and commuters got off the road, traffic dropped, but a new National Safety Council report finds that the number of motor vehicle fatalities per miles driven increased by 14% compared to the March 2019 rate. The total number of motor-vehicle-related deaths dropped by 8% in March of this year compared to March 2019, but the number of miles driven dropped by over 18%, due to myriad COVID-19 related impacts. (Hagemann, 5/20)
NPR:
The Smithsonian Is Collecting Coronavirus 'Artifacts' To Document The Pandemic
If you were designing a museum exhibit that would explain the coronavirus pandemic to future generations, what would you put in it? Smithsonian curators in Washington, D.C., are trying to answer that question, even as the virus continues to spread in some states. The National Museum of American History and the Anacostia Community Museum have recently launched coronavirus collection projects. A third effort from the National Museum of African American History and Culture will kick off in June. (Lefrak, 5/20)
Reuters:
A Nurse Struggled With COVID-19 Trauma. He Was Found Dead In His Car
Frontline healthcare workers are trying to cope with the trauma of treating the novel coronavirus, which has inundated U.S. hospitals with desperately ill patients and killed more than 90,000 Americans in less than three months. Healthcare workers with histories of substance abuse may have more difficulty coping with fear, isolation and witnessing so much death during the pandemic, psychiatrists told Reuters. Those factors could provoke relapses in workers recovering from addiction, they said. (Borter, 5/20)
ABC News:
COVID-19 Outbreak Exposes Generations-Old Racial And Economic Divide In New York City
First light has yet to break in New York City, but at a bus depot in the South Bronx, Wayne Lizardi has already been behind the wheel for hours... His bread and butter, shuttling essential workers across New York City at all hours, makes him a frontline worker in the ongoing pandemic. More than 100 of Lizardi’s colleagues in the MTA have died and thousands have tested positive. At one point, 6,000 were home sick or quarantined. Well over 50 percent of the MTA work force are minorities. (Chang, Taguchi, Lefferman, Kim and Yang, 5/20)
CNN:
CDC Advises To Test All Babies Born To Moms With Coronavirus
All newborns delivered to women with Covid-19 infections, confirmed or suspected, should be tested, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidelines released Wednesday. Infants may be at a higher risk for severe forms of the disease, compared to older children, according to the CDC. But the data is still pretty limited, and what scientists know about these infections is based on a handful of case reports. (Christensen, 5/21)
The New York Times:
After Coronavirus, Office Workers Might Face Unexpected Health Threats
When you finally return to work after the lockdown, coronavirus might not be the only illness you need to worry about contracting at the office. Office buildings once filled with employees emptied out in many cities and states as shelter-in-place orders were issued. These structures, normally in constant use, have been closed off and shut down, and health risks might be accumulating in unseen ways. “The buildings aren’t designed to be left alone for months,” said Andrew Whelton, an associate professor of civil, environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University. (Horberry, 5/20)
The New York Times:
How To Reduce Your Risk Of PTSD In A Post-Covid-19 World
“When will this end? And if it ever does, will I be OK?!” These are the questions patients in my therapy practice are asking, and I can’t emphasize enough that it’s normal to feel anxious now. The risk of developing a life-threatening illness alongside the loss of the things that usually anchor us is a brutal one-two-punch that would leave anyone feeling on edge. (Taitz, 5/20)
CNN:
Future Of Air Travel: What Could Change Because Of Covid-19?
As the world slowly eases its way out of the Covid-19 lockdown, we're on the verge of a new era in air travel. We could soon encounter armies of robotic cleaners patrolling airport concourses, disinfecting check-in counters and ticket kiosks. We might see passengers wafting through security and baggage checkpoints without touching anything. And we might be boarding aircraft where hand gestures and eye movements open overhead stowage bins and navigate our inflight entertainment screens. (Sillers, 5/21)
