Nearly 80% of Americans are concerned about the spread of ‘disinformation’ — with Black people among the most targeted

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Alfred Lubrano | The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

Jun. 10—Nearly 80% of Americans (79%) say that what they read online can contain “false or fake” information that’s deliberately disseminated “to confuse” — with people of color the most targeted, according to a new poll.

Recently released by Free Press, a media watchdog organization, the poll of 3,000 people nationwide also found that 76% of respondents expressed concern that they were reading disinformation online about the presidential election.

When asked where they get their news, more than 50% of respondents named two sources: Facebook and YouTube.

Black Americans, however, use the two platforms for their news more frequently than white people do, the poll found. While 63% of Black people surveyed said they relied on Facebook for information “a few times a week,” 56% of white people said they did. Similarly, 65% of Black people go to YouTube for news, compared to 51% of white people.

People of color who are “disproportionately high users of online media for news and information are therefore likely to be the most impacted by the choices that platform companies and legislators [that regulate them] make,” said S. Derek Turner, a senior policy analysis advisor for Free Press.

To help conduct the poll, Free Press used the services of the African American Research Collaborative, a group of pollsters, scholars, and researchers. BSP Research, a polling firm, was also connected to the project.

Both domestic and foreign operatives have specifically targeted people of color to spread disinformation online meant to undercut their votes and stir race-based discord.

Facebook and YouTube are go-to news sources for Black people because they’re “key sites for community building,” said Timothy Welbeck, director of Temple University’s Center for Anti-Racism and a professor of African American studies.

“People who are marginalized in everyday life find like-minded community on social media,” he said.

“Black people understand that disinformation is a tool to disrupt social progress,” Welbeck added. “It’s been used against them to disrupt access to voting, or to encourage apathy about voting.”

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Black Americans have purposely been given incorrect addresses for polling places, as well as incorrect times for voting, sometimes by Russian bots, Welbeck said. Russian disinformation operatives have also disseminated lies about race and social issues to foment unrest in the Black community, according to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

For years, Facebook has been criticized for allowing its algorithms, which determine what people see on the platform, to amplify fake news and hate speech. While calling Facebook a “positive force in the world,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized for not taking “a broad enough view” of Facebook’s responsibilities regarding misinformation and other difficulties.

Black people have to be more vigilant about checking the sources of their news, said Marq Temple, executive director of the Philadelphia Chapter of Concerned Black Men, a nonprofit providing role models and mentors for youth.

“Folks are using social media as research, but they’re not then going on to research the research,” he said. “And now, with artificial Intelligence out there with all that false information, you can get egg on your face if you only read Facebook and don’t do your homework.”

‘Beyond Fact’

Free Press poll’s findings are “not surprising,” said David Kahl Jr., a professor of communication and a misinformation expert at Penn State Behrend in Erie.

“People are becoming more aware that there are powerful forces, such as political actors, using social media to confuse and mislead people,” he said. “There is so much disinformation out there.”

An example is the falsehood that President Joe Biden used his influence to get former President Donald Trump convicted in Trump’s recently adjudicated hush money case in New York, Kahl said.

“No one can prove the conspiracy theory that says Biden did it, but many readers of social media don’t care, because they want to believe it, as well as their political party that says it,” he explained.

“And that belief, along with the emotion it evinces, is beyond fact, and is sacrosanct.”

(c)2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Another COVID vaccine? Yes, and here’s why

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This fall, prepare for the latest round of COVID vaccine Whac-a-Mole.  Like the old arcade game, no matter how many shots we get, the enemy always pops back up.

But here’s why the new shot, recommended by FDA advisers last week, makes sense: It targets a new version of the virus, the FDA panel said. It bolsters your body’s ever-growing defense system.  And it’s a lot better than getting very sick or hospitalized.

Last year’s shot isn’t holding up. Protection against both infection and severe illness is waning.

“Effectiveness has decreased, as the time since vaccination has increased — and as new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge,” said biostatistician Danyu Lin of the University of North Carolina School of Global Public Health, who presented worrisome new data to the FDA advisory panel.

The old vaccine’s effectiveness peaked one month after the shot, Lin’s team found. After four weeks, the vaccines were 52.2% effective at preventing infection and 66.8% effective at preventing hospitalization. After ten weeks, effectiveness at preventing infection decreased to 32.6% while effectiveness at preventing hospitalization decreased to 57.1%.

By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that with the annual influenza shot, “during seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40% to 60%.”

Last Wednesday, FDA’s advisers, a panel of physicians from hospitals and universities around the nation, unanimously voted to recommend a new vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna say they were prepared to make updated vaccines available in August, pending final FDA approval. As in previous years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will make specific recommendations for the elderly, immunocompromised, youth and other groups.

The new vaccine will target a variant of the ever-evolving coronavirus called JN.1. Last year’s vaccine was based on the XBB lineage of the virus.

Fortunately, the COVID virus isn’t changing in a way that would make it a serious threat to most people — turning it into something far deadlier, such as Ebola. Each new version is a subvariant of the omicron variant that first appeared in 2021 and, though highly transmissible, hasn’t proven to be particularly virulent.

But it is drifting in smaller ways, complicating our vaccine strategy. The original virus first detected in Wuhan, China, was replaced by the alpha variant, which was replaced by the delta variant, which was replaced by the omicron variant. A subvariant called BA.1, then BA.2, became the most common circulating versions of omicron.

Since then, the virus family has continued to multiply and diversify. There’s an evolutionary arms race — as the immune system makes new antibodies, the virus develops new mutations. Each iteration seeks to offer some sort of advantage, such as an ability to sidestep the immune system or extreme contagiousness.

Late in 2023, variant JN.1 overtook the XBB lineage.

There’s a wrinkle in the new vaccine strategy: By next fall, JN.1 may not be the dominant virus. Already, a subvariant called KP.2 is on the rise. But the new vaccine formula likely will be effective against both strains — and, because manufacturing takes time, a decision must be made now.

When compared against results from the original shot, the benefit of the new shot may seem modest. That’s because the original vaccines were given to a completely unprotected population, with high risk of hospitalization and death, said Lin. Now, with four years of inoculations and infections, the general population has a wide range of vulnerabilities.

While the vaccine is free to both insured and uninsured individuals, this cost is still real. The federal government paid, on average, $20.69 per dose, and the cost of the new vaccine is likely to be higher. But vaccines save money by preventing hospitalization, lost productivity due to illness and potential Long COVID.

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Research is now underway to create a universal vaccine that works against all strains of the virus.

Powerful combination vaccines are on the horizon, easing the chore of multiple shots. On Monday, Moderna announced that, in a Phase 3 clinical trial, its combination COVID and influenza vaccine generated stronger immune responses in older adults than individual vaccines targeting those viruses individually. A combo shot could be on the market as early as autumn 2025.

The FDA news comes as Americans are vaccine-weary and increasingly indifferent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of March, a mere 28% of American adults have been vaccinated with the latest vaccine. Why bother with another shot? Medical experts say there are still many reasons to get the jab:

• Protection from previous shots, especially the primary series, has waned — so some people are getting very sick. Research shows that a large percentage of those hospitalized for COVID-19 had been vaccinated with the primary series but hadn’t gotten an updated shot.

• Each additional shot helps. There is evidence that each vaccine or infection, especially in the first few months after receipt, provides added protection against critical illness and hospitalization. “Through multiple immunizations, your repertoire of immune cells expands,” said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, who studies variant mutations. “Your body learns to make these very potent antibodies that are active against multiple strains of the virus, so it becomes harder for the virus to wiggle away from them. … You’re much better defended.”

• If you get infected, it will likely be less severe. Think of seatbelts and airbags — they don’t prevent car crashes, but they boost your chance of survival. Similarly, COVID vaccines are not 100% protective, but an immune response will be more vigorous, so your illness will likely be briefer. Furthermore, research shows that vaccines help protect against Long COVID.

• Vaccines are easier on your body than infection. A sore arm and perhaps body chills are better than days of illness and perhaps hospitalization. “You’re setting yourself up for success the next time you see the virus,” said Kamil. “Your immune system will say, oh, I gotcha. I know who you are.”

Vikings have set their schedule for training camp. Here’s how fans can attend.

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Anybody hoping to get a glimpse of this version of the Vikings will get a chance to do so this summer at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.

The team announced its schedule for training camp on Tuesday afternoon with a total of nine practices open to the public. This year’s training camp is set to start on July 27 and end on August 8.

All adults hoping to gain access can purchase tickets for $5 with Season Season Ticket Members and children 17 years old and younger admitted for free.

The lone exception to those parameters is the night practice that will be hosted on August 5 at TCO Stadium. Those ticket will be available at $10 for adults, $5 for children 17 years old and younger, and free for children under 36 inches tall.

You must reserve tickets online at www.vikings.com/camp. You can also find additional details about things like autographs, activities, and parking once on the website.

There will be priority access for Season Ticket Members beginning at 1 p.m. on June 11, while the general public will be granted access beginning at 10 a.m. on June 13. Up to 4,000 digital tickets will be available to reserve for each session with capacity for the night practice set at 7,000.

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Free car emissions repair program offered at metro area auto shops

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Turbo Tim’s, a metro auto shop, is partnering with the nonprofit Environmental Initiative to offer free emission repairs for residents’ vehicles.

Project Clean Air Repair works with local auto repair shops to cover the cost of fixing emission controls and exhaust systems for low-income Minnesotans, according to an Environmental Initiative press release.

Turbo Tim’s is one of several Minnesota auto shops partnered with the Environmental Initiative. Other locations include The Lift Garage, Cars for Neighbors, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Small Vehicle Garage, Nghia’s Auto Service and Newgate School.

“Joining forces with Project CAR aligns perfectly with our mission to serve the community,” said Tim Suggs, owner of Turbo Tim’s, in a statement. “By providing emissions repairs at no cost to qualifying Minnesotans, we’re hitting the road running toward cleaner air and a brighter future.”

A typical passenger car can emit up to 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to epa.gov. Older cars may have outdated or broken emission controls, which increases the amount of pollutants and makes the air more harmful to breathe.

Project CAR gives Minnesotans an opportunity to receive a service while reducing gas emissions and creating a more air-friendly environment.

“The people who participate in this program get to work with a set of garages who fix these cars from a safety and reliability standpoint,” said Bill Droessler, Environmental Initiative senior partnership director. “And it provides environmental benefits for reduced car emissions.”

Project CAR is offered at the Turbo Tim repair shops in St. Paul Midway, West St. Paul and Northeast Minneapolis.

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