Items

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  2022-05-11

  Fact Checkers

  This is an Instagram post by covid_antivax. This post is in criticism of social media removing posts deemed "misinformation" about COVID and the vaccine. The tags from this user, like #depopulation, suggest that the goal of COVID and the vaccines is to reduce the population size. The censoring of information regarding the virus and the vaccine has been troublesome for myself. I do not think it is the right of social media to dictate what can and cannot be said, barring anything illegal, like death threats. I think it is a dangerous trajectory when these multinational companies start deciding what governing bodies and people should think. It brings into question people's actual rights to speech. People should have the right to voice their opinion on subjects like this. If people are prevented from speaking out as much on social media, they will get driven to more niche websites and forums to discuss things, which in turn help create more echo chambers. The great thing about free speech is the ability to bounce ideas off with other people and be given the opportunity to decide for myself what is right with more information available. Taking this away will make it harder to really test ideas and make them more refined. This is more my criticism of social media in general, but the talk on the virus and the vaccines has noticeably made it worse for any side to reconcile.
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  2022-04-28

  What Musk's free-speech Twitter could unleash

  This is a news story from Axios by Ina Fried. This is about the ramifications that could happen with Elon Musk's Twitter buyout. The author is worried about both election and COVID misinformation becoming more common on Twitter again. Other things added to this list include: sharing of manipulated media, impersonating others, increase of spam content, hateful conduct, and forms of violence being allowed.
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  2022-04-21

  Does Free Speech Protect COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation?

  This is a story from Standford Medicine's Scope Blog by Sharon Beckstrand. This is an opinion piece on free speech and misinformation as it relates to COVID-19. Beckstrand goes over some of the reasoning some might resist getting vaccinated, such as political beliefs. Some of these beliefs can come from well-intentioned individuals thinking they are spreading good information, or from intentionally misleading sources. Both of these examples are classified under misinformation. The author of this asks: how can the spread of misinformation be stopped without quashing free speech? To get an idea on how the United States approaches this with the First Amendment is though Supreme Court cases. The Supreme Court has upheld that false statements are still protected under free speech. A 2012 case of United States vs. Alvarez struck down a law that made it a criminal offense to lie about receiving military medals, as a false statement is still protected under the First Amendment. Other types of speech are not protected, such as: lying in court, making false statements to the government, impersonating a government official, and defaming someone. Beckstrand lays out some of the dangers that can come from the government trying to police false claims. One thing she asks people to consider is that a scientific statement claimed as false today could be considered verifiable at a different time, especially if it is something that has not been studied yet. Additionally, many do not trust the government to not abuse power when deciding what is misinformation. The article ends by saying that if something becomes politicized, they are more likely to view messages from groups they don't identify with as suspicious, regardless of how much evidence there is to back it up. At the end, Beckstrand closes with saying that if we cannot make sound decisions on how we interact with information, we can't make sound decisions about health.
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  2022-04-26

  WHO Warns About the Dangers of Health Misinformation as Musk Takes Over Twitter

  This is a news story from Bloomberg News by Andy Hoffman and Clara Hernanz Lizarraga. Since Elon Musk has officially acquired Twitter, it has prompted groups like the World Health Organization to give warnings on COVID misinformation. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the health emergencies program at the WHO issued a statement on Musk buying Twitter for $44 billion dollars. “When anyone reaches a position in life where they have so much influence over the way information is shared with communities, they take on a huge responsibility,” Ryan said at the media briefing in Geneva. “We wish Mr. Musk luck with his endeavors to improve the quality of information we all receive.” Throughout the pandemic, the WHO has worked to make sure correct information about the pandemic and vaccines are being spread. The WHO has an overall fear now that bad information could be spread more easily about COVID and possibly cause more death.
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  2020-09-08

  One Step At A Time

  Write a brief description of what you are submitting. This essay was produced as a part of the American Studies program at California High School in San Ramon, California. The essay is in response to the prompt "Is America currently living up to its core values?" This essay argues The United States of America is living up to its core values because we have had a breakthrough in equality even if you don’t think America hasn't changed since 1865. If we aren't follwing this value of eqauilty we are forsure on the right path because slavery historycally was just a little while back. And Individualism has carried the economy to be stable and maintain balance for The United States . It also includes references to the following modern events: Black Lives matter Act and the stand on wearing mask's in public during Corona virus
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  2020-08-08

  Protest your faith.

  If you were to take a stroll down Main St. of Huntington Beach, you might be surprised by what you see. I work in downtown Huntington Beach. Protests around these three topics has been quite regular. With a vast mixture of people wearing and not wearing facial coverings as mandated by the state. On this particular day there was a "black lives matter" protest, which was accompanied and/or countered by Christian evangelists as well as a single individual protesting for the re-opening of California businesses. In overhearing a conversation amongst the Christian group, it seems they feel that Covid-19 has been brought on as a punishment to those who have not repented for their sins. Here God is used as an authority figure to insight fear and shame to outgroup members or non-Christians. The pandemic seems to have had an impact on the effect of community in religion in that members that choose to gather in person must view the pandemic in a light that cannot effect them.