Coronavirus: Triple Edition

[Amentep]

Old thread: 

 

[Raithe]

The Guardian - Covid-19 misinformation ; Pro-Trump and QAnon twitter bots the worst culprits

 

Misinformation about the origins of Covid-19 is far more likely to be spread by pro-Trump, QAnon or Republican bots on Twitter than any other source, according to a study commissioned by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology.

In late March, when the coronavirus pandemic was taking hold in the US and across much of the rest of the world, two researchers at Queensland University of Technology, Timothy Graham and Axel Bruns, analysed 2.6m tweets related to coronavirus, and 25.5m retweets of those tweets, over the course of 10 days.

They filtered out legitimate accounts from those accounts most likely to be bots, which can be identified when they retweet identical coronavirus-related content within one second of each other.

Through this methodology, the researchers found 5,752 accounts retweeted coronavirus-related material in a coordinated way 6,559 times.

The researchers identified 10 prominent bot-like networks that were attempting to push political agendas, separate from those bot networks pushing commercial sites by hitching on to trending topics like coronavirus.

The researchers found a coordinated effort to promote the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was a bioweapon engineered by China.

The researchers identified a co-retweet network of 2,903 accounts with 4,125 links between them.

Within this network, the researchers found 28 to 30 clusters of accounts which identified themselves as pro-Trump, Republican or associated themselves with the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory.

There were 882 original tweets over the 10-day period pushing the bioweapon conspiracy theory, which were retweeted 18,498 times, and liked 31,783 times, with an estimated 5m impressions on Twitter.

The researchers said the effect of the bot networks was the amplification of the misinformation.

*****

[MedicineDan]

Yeah, those bad ol' Trump supporters posting fraudulent information.  Anyhow, I want to get this out of the way first:  hydroxychloroquine and Trump!  lol

Now, to something I saw today:  https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html?__source=twitter|main

This is like the craze over surfaces, which I knew was a red herring all along.  It's possible, but not likely.  The real problem is trusting the studies because, until they're vetted, none of them is all that valuable.  The study has to be reviewed, the underlying data made available, and then, ideally, follow up research should support the findings.  There are two problems I've seen with information about the pandemic.  First, some of the research is just shoddy, which muddies, the water.  Second, and even worse, we've been relying on theoretical models without a solid amount of data going into the assumptions.  That makes the models little more than informed guesses, and it shows.

Covid-19 is still a serious problem, but I suppose interest is lagging because of the protests and riots.  That's too bad because, while I believe the lockdown was misguided, I *do* think we should continue to take it seriously.  Luckily, there might be a vaccine on the horizon.  There's always the chance that the virus mutates in order to become milder, which is what a lot of microbes do in order to exist more efficiently within a human host for transmission.  Finally, this virus might be like a lot of the past pandemics and just peter out and not come back.  I'm not an epidemiologist, but I hope those are all possibilities.

EDIT: what the hell?  Jjust so I can read through another diatribe:  Trump and hydroxychloroquine!

Edited June 9, 2020 by MedicineDan

[Agiel]

Layoffs have hit the company. I managed to survive this round but I'm not certain such would be the case when the second wave of COVID-19 takes another swing at the economy in the Fall/Winter. My immediate supe had to take a big pay cut with this round. 

[Elerond]

Seem like good way to tell people that ending restrictions don't pose risk for them

[Gfted1]

Here in the US, we even have to warn people that hot coffee is hot.

[Volourn]

This thread should not exist. COVID19 has been beaten. sure of it. Look at the 1000s of people on the streets.  They all cna';t be wrong - even the 'medical  experts' say they are doing nothing wrong.

[ShadySands]

Volo,

I have to get a medical procedure done and they're talking about making me take a test 3 days prior. Not sure if it's just to see if I currently have it or if they're doing an antibody test as well.

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, Volourn said:

 Look at the 1000s of people on the streets.  They all cna';t be wrong

every history teacher who ever had vol as a student is weeping.

HA! Good Fun!

[Volourn]

I doubt any history teacher I had eons ago gives a crap about what I am posting in some lame internet thread. LMAO

 

Chances are they forgot who I am and our history together. I wasn't even a speck in the history of their lives.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by Volourn

[Skarpen]

7 hours ago, Volourn said:

This thread should not exist. COVID19 has been beaten. sure of it. Look at the 1000s of people on the streets.  They all cna';t be wrong - even the 'medical  experts' say they are doing nothing wrong.

You don't understand. This is very politically savvy virus and he supports BLM and doesn't spread during peaceful riots. Unless the police use tear gas or tries to prevent peaceful looting, then it spreads. So republican doing anything = virus spreads, democrat doing anything = virus doesn't spread.

[Raithe]

SeattleTimes - The inspiring story of Seattle man's coronavirus survival comes with a 1.1 million dollar hospital bill

Not that with insurance and all he'd actually have to pay all that, but it still makes you blink a touch at US health and pricing....

Remember Michael Flor, the longest-hospitalized COVID-19 patient who, when he unexpectedly did not die, was jokingly dubbed “the miracle child?”

Now they can also call him the million-dollar baby.

Flor, 70, who came so close to death in the spring that a night-shift nurse held a phone to his ear while his wife and kids said their final goodbyes, is recovering nicely these days at his home in West Seattle. But he says his heart almost failed a second time when he got the bill from his health care odyssey the other day.

“I opened it and said ‘holy [bleep]!’ “ Flor says.

The total tab for his bout with the coronavirus: $1.1 million. $1,122,501.04, to be exact. All in one bill that’s more like a book because it runs to 181 pages.

Edited June 13, 2020 by Raithe

[Gromnir]

On 6/13/2020 at 5:36 AM, Raithe said:

SeattleTimes - The inspiring story of Seattle man's coronavirus survival comes with a 1.1 million dollar hospital bill

Not that with insurance and all he'd actually have to pay all that, but it still makes you blink a touch at US health and pricing....

 

 

the guy was in the hospital for two months and stay were involving icu and initial emergency room costs. no surprise bill were so large.

frame o' reference--

we had a minor surgery a couple years ago. did require general anesthesia, but were considered a relative simple procedure, though am aware general anesthesia should never be considered routine. were gonna be outpatient, but doctors decided to keep us overnight to monitor, just to be safe.

less than 24 hours total spent in hospital for a non-emergency surgery which took less than two hours. total cost for surgery and overnight stay: $350k.

...

in other news, FDA pulls emergency approval for malaria drugs to treat COVID-19.

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

[Skarpen]

1 hour ago, Gromnir said:

the guy was in the hospital for two months and stay were involving icu and initial emergency room costs. no surprise bill were so large.

frame o' reference--

we had a minor surgery a couple years ago. did require general anesthesia, but were considered a relative simple procedure, though am aware general anesthesia should never be considered routine. were gonna be outpatient, but doctors decided to keep us overnight to monitor, just to be safe.

less than 24 hours total spent in hospital for a non-emergency surgery which took less than two hours. total cost for surgery and overnight stay: $350k.

...

in other news, FDA pulls emergency approval for malaria drugs to treat COVID-19.

HA! Good Fun!

No surprise for whom? I've had an accident at work a couple years back. Spent a week in a hospital and had surgical nose reconstruction under general anaesthesia. The bill (covered by universal health insurance) was 35k PLN. Which would be at the time about 14k USD. This I will agree, medical costs in US are not even through the roof they are through the stratosphere.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Skarpen

[Boeroer]

A few years ago I was in the hospital for one week because a thyroid tumor (benign) had to be removed. I personally paid nothing but iirc the bill was something around 20k EUR (and that was with private insurance where the hospital can charge more than if I had universal healthcare). It included everything: the stay, the medicine, the surgery, getting treated by the chief physician and a single bed room and so on. 

Don't know what you are doing with your healthcare system in the US - but your doing it wrong.

[Amentep]

17 hours ago, Skarpen said:

No surprise for whom? 

Anyone familiar with the incredibly high price of healthcare in the US.

[ShadySands]

There's a reason it's the number one reason for bankruptcies 

[Hurlshort]

I just don't understand how anyone can look at the way we pay for healthcare in the US and think it is working. It is completely broken. It shouldn't be a partisan issue. Everyone needs health care. We provide a K-12 education to every child in this country. We manage to feed the entire country. There is clean water. There is electricity. When a community fails to get one of these basic services, it is a big outrage. People aren't expected to go into debt to secure them. Why can't we figure out how to offer health care to everyone at a reasonable cost? Everyone  in the country should want that!

[Gfted1]

Weirdly, my health insurance has a deductible, after which is met, the rest is covered.

But if you dont have insurance (which is also weird because its the law of the land now), then youre screwed.

[Pidesco]

35 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Weirdly, my health insurance has a deductible, after which is met, the rest is covered.

But if you dont have insurance (which is also weird because its the law of the land now), then youre screwed.

How much is your deductible? And how much do you pay for your insurance?

[Gfted1]

Im not 100% sure because Ive never had to use it, but I think the deductible maxes out at 5000 US Dollars (maybe 2500, but I would have to look it up) per person on the policy.

[BruceVC]

9 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Im not 100% sure because Ive never had to use it, but I think the deductible maxes out at 5000 US Dollars (maybe 2500, but I would have to look it up) per person on the policy.

Geez it must be nice coming from white, male privilege .........oh wait

 

 

 

[Pidesco]

18 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Im not 100% sure because Ive never had to use it, but I think the deductible maxes out at 5000 US Dollars (maybe 2500, but I would have to look it up) per person on the policy.

That's a ginormous amount by the standards of any developed nation, except for the US. I assume you pay upwards of 10k a year in premiums, if it is for your family?

[Gfted1]

I should add, thats an annual deductible. It resets every year. Its not as sexy and shocking as the total bill our valiant press reports, but thats how you get people OUTRAGED.

Also, in my case, my car insurance, and homeowners insurance, and every other insurance Ive ever had, also has a deductible. Kooky.

[Gfted1]

1 minute ago, Pidesco said:

That's a ginormous amount by the standards of any developed nation, except for the US. I assume you pay upwards of 10k a year in premiums, if it is for your family?

Ooooooh, so the discussion is really about insurance premiums! Yes, the insurance companies are rat bastards and I would like to see all their headquarters burned down in protest (sans employees nats). But even for a poor person like me, 5k isnt going to bankrupt me. But I could see it happening if a Amish family of 20 has their barn collapse on them.