Category NewsPosted on:
News
Vaccine Data Deficits: Jan. 4
Data deficit: Why did NFL player Damar Hamlin collapse? Challenges: Fuels Rumors:
Misleading Ads Fueled Rapid Growth of Online Mental Health Companies
In a four-week period spanning October and November, about 20 companies ran more than 2,100 ads on Facebook and Instagram that described benefits of prescription drugs without citing risks, promoted drugs for unapproved uses or featured testimonials without disclosing whether they came from actors or company employees, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of…
Vaccine Data Deficits: Dec. 7
Data deficit: Is the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine safe for children under 5? Challenges: Fuels Rumors: Data deficit: Why do studies show more vaccinated people dying from Covid-19 than unvaccinated? Challenges: Fuels Rumors: Data deficit: Who is accountable when Covid-19 vaccines cause side effects? Challenges: Fuels Rumors:
Vaccine Data Deficits: Nov. 16
Data deficit: What causes RSV and why is it a problem now? Challenges: Fuels Rumors: Data Deficits: Data deficit: Is a new RSV vaccine safe to administer during pregnancy? Challenge: Fuels Rumors: Data Deficits: Data deficit: Is it safe to combine flu and Covid-19 vaccines? Challenges: Fuels Rumors: Data Deficits: Improving Contextual Understanding: Twitter impersonations…
Vaccine Data Deficits: Oct. 26
Data Deficit: Did ACIP mandate Covid-19 vaccines for children? Challenge: Last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization (ACIP) met to vote on adding Covid-19 vaccines to the childhood immunization schedule and the Vaccines for Children program. Anti-vaccine advocates falsely claimed this would mandate Covid-19 vaccines for school attendance. ACIP can only make recommendations; the authority…
Vaccine Data Deficits: Oct. 13, 2022
Data Deficit: Are Covid-19 vaccines safe for men under age 40? Challenge: On October 7, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo announced that he recommends males aged 18-39 not receive the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, citing concern of increased risk of cardiac-related death. This recommendation is based on a study of Florida residents that suggested,…
Fossil Fuel Companies Are ‘Talking Green but Acting Dirty,’ Harvard Researchers Find
Harvard researchers published a report last week analyzing how European fossil fuel, car, and airline companies use social media to market their work as environmentally friendly. Geoffrey J.S. Supran, a research fellow in the Department of History of Science, led the project in collaboration with the Algorithmic Transparency Institute. The research was commissioned by the…
Three Shades of Greenwashing
Download the Full Report We report the results of a pilot study as a first step towards establishing a major new research initiative that will monitor, analyze, and expose digital climate discourse and deception. This initiative will be directed by Dr. Geoffrey Supran at the University of Miami in collaboration with computer scientists at the…
TikTok’s Black Box Obscures Its Role in Russia’s War
Earlier this month, researcher Cameron Hickey found he could not expand his flock of TikTok bots, because his method for logging into newly spawned accounts was blocked by the platform. “This research is fraught,” says Hickey, director of the Algorithmic Transparency Institute, a research project at nonprofit the National Conference on Citizenship. “But it’s critical…