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https://huntingtonsdiseasenews.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-covid-19-impact-spread-risks-social-distancing/

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https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-scientific-objectivity-influences-scientific-progress.html

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https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1321843/davao-lumad-advocates-tagged-as-berdugo

This article shows the concept of interpretation, specifically how our government interprets the meaning of what a human rights violator is.

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https://rappler.com/nation/executive-probe-also-uncovers-alleged-rampant-corruption-philhealth

It's important to find out the truth behind the actions of the government as our country struggles to get the pandemic under control.

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This shows the importance of proof. Given, the mass influx of news, we need to be able to be sure that the news we absorb is 100% true.

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MANILA, Philippines - Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, erstwhile aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, posted a photo on Monday of his former boss to debunk "fake news" that the latter was airlifted from Davao City to Singapore over the weekend for an emergency treatment.

In the photo Go posted on Facebook, Duterte was seen eating with his partner Honeylet Avanceña, who was holding today's newspaper, together with their child, Kitty and another child.

"Sa mga nagpapakalat ng fake news, makonsensya naman kayo. Ang Pangulo ay nasa Pilipinas lamang at handang mag serbisyo sa kapwa Pilipino," Go said in the post.

LOOK: Senator Bong Go posts a photo of President Duterte with his family in Davao City following claims that the President went to Singapore over the weekend for emergency treatment. (📸 Sen. Go) @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/YaOqVqrj1t

- Darryl John Esguerra (@DJEsguerraINQ) August 17, 2020

In a press briefing earlier, Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said the President is "fine" and the public need not be concerned.

"Fake news po ang pag-alis ng Pilipinas ng ating Presidente," Roque said.

"Nananatili po siya sa Davao, hindi po siya umaalis ng Pilipinas,' he added.

Duterte has been in his hometown Davao City since August 3.

He is scheduled to meet with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Davao City on Monday evening to decide on the fate of the coronavirus lockdown in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces. He will address the nation afterward.

Duterte's state of health has been a recurring issue in his presidency given his advanced age.

The 75-year-old President has admitted publicly that he has, among other things, Buerger's disease and Barrett's esophagus, and that had been experiencing occasional headaches and has spinal issues which he attributes to a motorcycle accident when he was 68 years old.

He has also revealed to taking sleeping pills and the highly addictive Fentanyl and to having myasthenia gravis -an autoimmune disease that destroys muscle receptors and can result in the drooping of eyelids, or overall weakness.

EDV

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

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For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

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Proof of life: Duterte pictured with family to debunk rumored 'medevac' to Singapore

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MANILA, Philippines - Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, erstwhile aide of President Rodrigo Duterte, posted a photo on Monday of his former boss to debunk "fake news" that the latter was airlifted from Davao City to Singapore over the weekend for an emergency treatment.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgkell/2020/04/11/four-lessons-we-should-learn-from-the-pandemic/#2fa590e96370

For me, I think the concept of value is important especially in knowledge production, because in the time of a pandemic, we need to know which knowledge to value from others.

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https://www.zmescience.com/science/coronavirus-updates-news-philippines/

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‘Governments all over Asia are silencing critical journalists’

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I T IS OVER a month now since the screen went dark. At 7.52pm on May 5th ABS- CBN, the biggest broadcaster in the Philippines, ceased transmission. In theory, its licence simply expired-nothing to do with a years-long feud with President Rodrigo Duterte. But his administration had warned the regulator against giving the company a temporary extension, and Congress, which is dominated by the president's allies, had dawdled for months over renewing its 25-year franchise (it still offers online programming and a cable channel). The Supreme Court may yet allow ABS-CBN to resume broadcasting until Congress makes up its mind. But even if it does, a clear signal has been sent to journalists and their commercial backers about the consequences of criticising the government too fiercely.

The story will not surprise Asia's journalists and media firms. All over the continent, they are under pressure from the withdrawal of government advertising, unwarranted tax investigations, spurious criminal charges, hostile takeovers, suspect fake-news campaigns, online trolling and old-fashioned thuggery. Since 2018 press freedom has declined in more than a dozen Asian countries, according to Reporters Without Borders, a watchdog. The backsliders include Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Singapore, as well as the Philippines. The group ranks 180 countries by the leeway granted journalists; about a third of the most repressive regimes are in Asia, led by North Korea, which came rock bottom in the latest index, Turkmenistan, which placed 179th, China (177th) and Vietnam (175th).

In many countries where press freedom is declining, there was never much of a tradition of it. The prime minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, has held power since the demise of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime some 40 years ago. He has worked methodically to undermine international efforts to turn the country into a democracy. The closure in recent years of several independent radio stations and a critical newspaper, Cambodia Daily, were only part of a broader campaign that also saw the main opposition party banned.

By the same token, it was perhaps too much to hope that the authorities in Myanmar would slough off the legacy of decades of military dictatorship overnight. Over the past four years the armed forces have filed 52 legal complaints against their critics, more than half of them in the past year alone. Two journalists from Reuters, a news agency, were jailed for over a year after they exposed a massacre of civilians by soldiers. The soldiers themselves spent far less time in prison.

It is worrying, nonetheless, that governments which have always manhandled the press are getting rougher. In Pakistan critics of the army are intimidated and attacked, at home and abroad. A popular but spiky news channel, Geo, found itself off the air for months in 2018, as cable firms mysteriously dropped it. The government does little to protect reporters, meanwhile, from Islamist militants. Of 33 murders of journalists in Pakistan from 2013 to 2019, not a single one has resulted in punishment for the killers. Sluggishness also besets investigations into violence against journalists in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

More alarming still, countries with a long history of press freedom have begun to pick on journalists. Narendra Modi, India's prime minister since 2014, rarely deigns to talk to the media. Whereas he is merely aloof, his underlings are downright hostile. It has become more common for reporters to face lawsuits filed by private citizens in response to criticism of the government. On June 8th, for example, the Editors Guild of India released a statement decrying Delhi's police for investigating a journalist based on a complaint submitted by a spokesman for Mr Modi's party. Armies of trolls, meanwhile, attack critical reporters online, sometimes publishing their addresses or other personal details. Rana Ayyub, a journalist who has investigated anti-Muslim violence in the state of Gujarat when Mr Modi was its chief minister, has endured her face being superimposed onto pornographic videos, not to mention threats of gang rape.

There is commercial pressure, too. Unfriendly newspapers seem to miss out on government advertising. And since the conglomerates that own most television channels and newspapers are sprawling businesses that depend on the government for umpteen licences, approvals and loans, it is easy for those in power to press them for favourable coverage.

The Philippines is another place where freedoms thought to be firmly established are eroding. Condemning Mr Duterte's policies, such as his campaign of shooting suspected drug dealers, carries risk for reporters online and in person. Maria Ressa, the boss of a needling news site, faces up to 12 years on a libel charge. "Just because you're a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if you're a son of a bitch," Mr Duterte declared in 2016.

His latest threat to media freedom appears within a sweeping new anti-terrorism act. It passed the Senate in February and the House of Representatives this month, awaiting only the president's signature to become law. The bill's critics ask why it is such a priority, when the country is battling the coronavirus and an unemployment rate of 18%. They fear its broad scope and hazy definitions could be used to target critics of the government. "The only way that government can curtail freedom of expression is if there is a clear and present danger that the state has a right to prevent," is the far from reassuring response of Mr Duterte's spokesman. "Never since the Marcos dictatorship has press freedom been so in danger of being suppressed as under the Duterte administration," counters Nonoy Espina of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines.

Covid-19 is accelerating Asian governments' attacks on journalists. In Indonesia 51 people have been arrested for allegedly spreading falsehoods about the disease. In Malaysia, too, where a new government has abandoned the more relaxed attitude to the press of its predecessor, some 29 people have appeared in court for supposedly spreading fake news about the epidemic. A correspondent there for the South China Morning Post is under investigation for reporting on the authorities' efforts to arrest and test illicit migrants. Sweeping emergency powers in Thailand, Cambodia and beyond, ostensibly introduced to help fight the pandemic, give governments freer rein to squash detractors.

In India, Mr Modi told reporters in a video conference to focus on positive coverage during the country's battle with the coronavirus. The police in Mumbai went further. They passed an order banning "any person inciting mistrust towards government functionaries and their actions taken in order to prevent spread of the covid-19 virus". Needless to say, the actions India's government functionaries have taken during the outbreak have not been beyond reproach (see Banyan, albeit discreetly if you happen to be in Mumbai).

These sinister developments have largely escaped international censure. When Michelle Bachelet, the UN 's human-rights commissioner, took a dozen countries to task this month for exploiting the covid epidemic "to restrict dissent or the free flow of information and debate", they simply shrugged off her criticism. Eight of them, including India, the Philippines and Vietnam, retorted that the epidemic "requires extraordinary and unprecedented measures". It is indeed extraordinary and unprecedented that those three countries would find themselves in agreement about the proper role of the media. It is sadly predictable, though, that their governments, without a vigorous press to hold them to account, will manage the epidemic worse than they otherwise would have. ■

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Muffled cries"

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Governments all over Asia are silencing critical journalists

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I T IS OVER a month now since the screen went dark. At 7.52pm on May 5th ABS- CBN, the biggest broadcaster in the Philippines, ceased transmission. In theory, its licence simply expired-nothing to do with a years-long feud with President Rodrigo Duterte.

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https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/8/17/Philippines-coronavirus--G614-strain-mutation-infection-.html?fbclid=IwAR0zSAgFLSxDvQnXwr3EV3lR6AK42tRCxHe9rDGS4qr7-L_tqYq9S2ynT44
Truth

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As the country faces an uncertainty when it comes to how we react and perceive different situations, we often seek the guidance of our political leaders given their 'credibility' by attaining that position. Thus, the statements that they make necessitate the need for objectivity given that each statement could be misconstrued by anyone in society.

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She said: "Bakit bibigyan 'yung middle [class] eh may trabaho sila? Kahit lockdown, sumusuweldo sila sa gobyerno kung employed by the government. Kung employed naman ng mga private, nagsusuweldo din sila. Kaya nga nahihirapan 'yung mga companies because they have to pay the salaries even if there is no business," Villar said.

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Cynthia Villar says sorry for offending middle-class workers

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She said: "Bakit bibigyan 'yung middle [class] eh may trabaho sila? Kahit lockdown, sumusuweldo sila sa gobyerno kung employed by the government. Kung employed naman ng mga private, nagsusuweldo din sila. Kaya nga nahihirapan 'yung mga companies because they have to pay the salaries even if there is no business," Villar said.

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Especially in this recent climate, truth is very important so that all can be properly informed and we needn’t fight amongst ourselves over what is true or fake. Misinformation has become prolific alongside the ease of spreading news and information online. We should be grounded in truth so that people aren’t misinformed and fight for the wrong things, not knowing of their misconceptions.

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Over the past few years, online disinformation has taken evolutionary leaps forward, with the Internet Research Agency pumping out artificial outrage on social media and hackers leaking documents -both real and fabricated-to suit their narrative. More recently, Eastern Europe has faced a broad campaign that takes fake news ops to yet another level: hacking legitimate news sites to plant fake stories, then hurriedly amplifying them on social media before they're taken down.

On Wednesday, security firm FireEye released a report on a disinformation-focused group it's calling Ghostwriter. The propagandists have created and disseminated disinformation since at least March 2017, with a focus on undermining NATO and the US troops in Poland and the Baltics; they've posted fake content on everything from social media to pro-Russian news websites. In some cases, FireEye says, Ghostwriter has deployed a bolder tactic: hacking the content management systems of news websites to post their own stories. They then disseminate their literal fake news with spoofed emails, social media, and even op-eds the propagandists write on other sites that accept user-generated content.

That hacking campaign, targeting media sites from Poland to Lithuania, has spread false stories about US military aggression, NATO soldiers spreading coronavirus, NATO planning a full-on invasion of Belarus, and more. "They're spreading these stories that NATO is a danger, that they resent the locals, that they're infected, that they're car thieves," says John Hultquist, director of intelligence at FireEye. "And they're pushing these stories out with a variety of means, the most interesting of which is hacking local media websites and planting them. These fictional stories are suddenly bona fide by the sites that they're on, and then they go in and spread the link to the story."

FireEye itself did not conduct incident response analyses on these incidents and concedes that it doesn't know exactly how the hackers are stealing credentials that give them access to the content management systems that allow posting and altering news stories. Nor does it know who is behind the string of website compromises, or for that matter the larger disinformation campaign that the fake stories are a part of.

But the company's analysts have found that the news site compromises and the online accounts used to spread links to those fabricated stories, as well as the more traditional creation of fake news on social media, blogs, and websites with an anti-US and anti-NATO bent, all tie back to a distinct set of personas, indicating one unified disinformation effort. FireEye's Hultquist points out that the campaign doesn't seem financially motivated, indicating a political or state backer, and notes that the focus on driving a wedge between NATO and citizens of Eastern Europe hints at possible Russian involvement.

Nor would it be the first time that Russian hackers planted fake news stories; in 2017, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news story designed to embarrass the country's leader and cause a rift with the US, though US intelligence never confirmed the Kremlin's involvement.

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Hackers Broke Into Real News Sites to Plant Fake Stories

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Over the past few years, online disinformation has taken evolutionary leaps forward, with the Internet Research Agency pumping out artificial outrage on social media and hackers leaking documents -both real and fabricated-to suit their narrative.

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Instead of blindly believing, it is important that knowledge is supported by evidence in order for it to be beneficial and not being able to misinform

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US President Donald Trump has been lambasted by the medical community after suggesting research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.

He also appeared to propose irradiating patients' bodies with UV light, an idea dismissed by a doctor at the briefing.

Another of his officials had moments earlier said sunlight and disinfectant were known to kill the infection.

Disinfectants are hazardous substances and can be poisonous if ingested.

Even external exposure can be dangerous to the skin, eyes and respiratory system.

What did President Trump say?

During Thursday's White House coronavirus task force briefing, an official presented the results of US government research that indicated coronavirus appeared to weaken more quickly when exposed to sunlight and heat.

The study also showed bleach could kill the virus in saliva or respiratory fluids within five minutes and isopropyl alcohol could kill it even more quickly.

William Bryan, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, outlined the findings at the news conference.

While noting the research should be treated with caution, Mr Trump suggested further research in that area.

"So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous - whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light," the president said, turning to Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator, "and I think you said that hasn't been checked but you're going to test it.

"And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside of the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that too. Sounds interesting," the president continued.

"And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?

"So it'd be interesting to check that."

Pointing to his head, Mr Trump went on: "I'm not a doctor. But I'm, like, a person that has a good you-know-what."

He turned again to Dr Birx and asked if she had ever heard of using "the heat and the light" to treat coronavirus.

"Not as a treatment," Dr Birx said. "I mean, certainly, fever is a good thing. When you have a fever, it helps your body respond. But I've not seen heat or light."

"I think it's a great thing to look at," Mr Trump said.

Analysis by Rachel Schraer, BBC health reporter

Using a disinfectant can kill viruses on surfaces. It's a very good idea to keep clean the things you touch, using products with anti-microbial properties - for example, substances with a high alcohol content.

There is also some evidence that, in general, viruses on surfaces die more quickly when directly exposed to sunlight. But we don't know how much or how long they have to be exposed for UV light to have an effect, so you're far safer just washing your hands and surfaces and trying not to touch your face.

Crucially, this is only about infected objects and surfaces - not about what happens once the virus is inside your body.

One of the main ways of catching the virus is by breathing in droplets expelled by an infected person, mainly by sneezing and coughing. The virus very quickly begins to multiply and spread, eventually reaching the lungs.

Not only does consuming or injecting disinfectant risk poisoning and death, it's not even likely to be effective.

Equally, by the time the virus has taken hold inside your body, no amount of UV light on your skin is going to make a difference.

And since UV radiation damages the skin, using it to kill the virus could be a case of - to borrow a well-worn phrase - the cure being worse than the disease.

Doctors warned the president's idea could have fatal results.

Pulmonologist Dr Vin Gupta told NBC News: "This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous.

"It's a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves."

Kashif Mahmood, a doctor in Charleston, West Virginia, tweeted: "As a physician, I can't recommend injecting disinfectant into the lungs or using UV radiation inside the body to treat Covid-19.

"Don't take medical advice from Trump."

John Balmes, a pulmonologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, warned that even breathing fumes from bleach could cause severe health problems.

He told Bloomberg News: "Inhaling chlorine bleach would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs. The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant.

"Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe. It's a totally ridiculous concept."

Mr Trump has previously hyped a malaria medication, hydroxycloroquine, as a possible treatment for coronavirus, though he has stopped touting that drug recently.

This week a study of coronavirus patients in a US government-run hospital for military veterans found more deaths among those treated with hydroxychloroquine than those treated with standard care.

Reacting to the president's remarks on Thursday evening, Joe Biden, his likely Democratic challenger in November's White House election, tweeted: "UV light? Injecting disinfectant? Here's an idea, Mr President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals."

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Skip twitter post by Judy Melinek M.D.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

What's the US government's advice?

Only this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to be careful with cleaning products as sales of household disinfectants soar amid the pandemic.

"Calls to poison centres increased sharply at the beginning of March 2020 for exposures to both cleaners and disinfectants," found the agency's weekly morbidity and mortality report.

The US Food and Drug Administration has warned against ingesting disinfectants, citing the sale of bogus miracle cures that contain bleach and purport to treat everything from autism to Aids and hepatitis.

The agency's website says: "The FDA has received reports of consumers who have suffered from severe vomiting, severe diarrhoea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration, and acute liver failure after drinking these products."

Last week a federal judge secured a temporary injunction against one organisation, known as the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, for marketing a product equivalent to industrial bleach as a remedy for coronavirus.

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Coronavirus: Outcry after Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as treatment

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Doctors call the president's latest remarks about coronavirus treatment "dangerous" and "ridiculous".

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https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/07/27/2031010/transcript-president-rodrigo-dutertes-penultimate-sona

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cjxv13v27dyt/fake-news

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As the whole country faces a time of uncertainty amplified by the mis information disseminated by deceptive lies by the government, it is now important to uncover truth.

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https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiSzJbI_aPrAhXKyYsBHcpZBjQQFjADegQIBBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-philippines-media%2Fphilippine-journalist-at-odds-with-duterte-arrested-for-libel-idUSKCN1Q21GA&usg=AOvVaw1oSJ0YVPVMxrzzsR9E8R5U

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https://www.thoughtco.com/objectivity-and-fairness-2073726

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https://rappler.com/nation/philippines-coronavirus-projected-cases-mecq-august-31-2020

Evidence is important in knowledge because one must consider facts and data when making decisions.

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/fake-news-exactly-has-really-had-influence/

Evidence is important especially in the consumption of information these days, where the truth may be hidden from the public even more.

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https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/female-frontliners-cope-coronavirus-pandemic

Given that we’re facing a global pandemic right now, it is important that we gain a larger perspective on the situations of others

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Living through a pandemic – A time for clarity, courage and truth. Amidst peacetime and wartime, the certainty of truth is the singular path to victory.

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Living through a pandemic - A time for clarity, courage and truth

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New Zealand is one of a few countries in the world where numbers of people infected with Sars‐CoV‐2 have been limited but its population has not been spared the fear and anxiety that the pandemic has provoked.

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Truth is the most relevant, as it serves as the basis of the type of information we view to be credible and hence shapes our perception of the world as well as our thoughts and opinions.

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Senators questioned the Department of Health (DOH) after reporting on Thursday night a sudden surge in the number of recovered COVID-19 patients in one day.

Sen. Joel Villanueva (Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN/MANILA BULLETIN)

"We are being fooled," Senator Joel Villanueva said as he expressed disbelief over the DOH's announcement of 38,075 recoveries on July 30.

In his Twitter posts, the lawmaker said the health department's latest report rather showed "a problem with data interpretation" and was only "giving people a false sense of security."

"Imbes na mass testing, naging mass recovery. Yung reporting style ng DOH, mas malala pa sa pagbago-bago ng panahon. #DOHunreliable #WeAreBeingFooled," Villanueva wrote. (Instead of mass testing, they gave us mass recovery. The DOH's reporting style is worse than the changes in weather.)

Senator Risa Hontiveros also slammed the DOH's "confusing and questionable" pronouncements.

"People are anxious [and] tired. Huwag na dagdagan, [DOH]. Nakakalito at nakakaduda ang papalit-palit na reporting system sa COVID. Pati ang kabagalan ng pag-collate at pagreport, ngayon pati sa recovered cases (Please don't add to these, DOH. Your ever-changing reporting system for COVID-19 is confusing and questionable. You had delays in collating and reporting, now even with the recovered cases)," Hontiveros said in a separate statement on social media.

The DOH, she said, should report and explain the country's COVID-19 situation "every step of the way."

"Data is vital. Hindi tayo makakatugon nang maayos kung hindi natin alam ang kumpletong larawan ng problema (We will not be able to properly respond to the pandemic if we don't have the complete picture of the problem)," she said.

"Clear communication is what will earn the people's trust," Hontiveros said. "They need to fix communication [with] the public and first [and] foremost amongst themselves."

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, for his part, said he will not be too quick conclude that the DOH "doctored" the data.

"What I would ask of them is a better explanation of the methodology used. And a breakdown, per town, so it will give us a high-resolution picture," he said in a statement issued Friday.

Recto also called for a third-party review of the DOH, particularly from the academe, to "confirm if the science is solid".

"Truth is as important as testing, tracing and treatment in fighting the pandemic. Reality cannot be altered by changing the formula just to arrive at a certain conclusion," he said.

"How many times have we been told that people died because one patient lied? The same honesty is demanded of government because one that can't handle the truth can cause mass casualties."

The DOH reported that 38,075 COVID-19 patients have recovered in the country, a huge jump from the previous record-high recoveries of 4,325 last July 13.

It also exceeded the agency's previous count of total recoveries of 26,996 on Wednesday afternoon.

Aside from the recoveries, the agency also announced a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases with 3,954 more infections added on its caseload. This was also the highest number of new cases recorded in one day so far.

The DOH said the sudden increase in the COVID-19 figures was due to its "enhanced data reconciliation efforts with local government units."

"Early this month, the DOH created the COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit which focuses on data collection, validation, and reconciliation of information available at the local and national level," the DOH explained.

"These massive data reconciliation efforts have resulted in faster and more accurate tagging of health statuses-particularly on deaths and recoveries. Data on recovery reconciliations will be reported every 15 days," it added.

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Senators question DOH on surge in recoveries - Manila Bulletin

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Senators questioned the Department of Health (DOH) after reporting on Thursday night a sudden surge in the number of recovered COVID-19 patients in one day. "We are being fooled," Senator Joel Villanueva said as he expressed disbelief over the DOH's announcement of 38,075 recoveries on July 30.

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Facebook has been blocking sources of fake news common among Jair Bolsonaro's supporters, showing how important it is to be able to discern between what is real and fake news.

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Facebook has complied with an order by Brazil's Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

The group are accused of spreading fake news against judges.

However, the social media giant said the measure was a threat to freedom of speech, and said it would appeal against the order.

Its platform has been used to call for a military coup to shut down Congress and the Supreme Court.

In May a judge ordered Facebook to block 12 accounts and Twitter another 16.

On Friday Brazil's Supreme Court fined Facebook 1.92m reais ($368,000; £280,000) for refusing to block worldwide access to the accounts - it had only agreed to block access to accounts that could accessed from Brazil - and a further 100,000 reais for each day it failed to comply.

It was not clear whether Twitter had also been fined.

Facebook finds UK-based fake news network

Facebook said in a statement that the order was extreme, "conflicting with laws and jurisdictions worldwide".

"Given the threat of criminal liability to a local employee, at this point we see no other alternative than complying with the decision by blocking the accounts globally, while we appeal to the Supreme Court," it said.

Among the accounts blocked are those of Roberto Jefferson, leader of a party loyal to the president, and Luciano Hang, one of Brazil's best known businessmen.

Facebook and Twitter are under growing pressure to tackle hate speech and false information.

In July Facebook blocked dozens of accounts on Facebook and Instagram which it said were involved in creating "fictitious personas posing as reporters" and "masquerading as news outlets".

It said it had linked the accounts to employees in the offices of Mr Bolsonaro, his sons Eduardo and Flávio, and others.

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Facebook forced to block pro-Bolsonaro accounts

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Facebook has complied with an order by Brazil's Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The group are accused of spreading fake news against judges. However, the social media giant said the measure was a threat to freedom of speech, and said it would appeal against the order.

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The critical thinking to be able to decipher truth from falsehood is important, especially in this time of mass disinformation.

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At the height of the 2016 election, researchers at the RAND Corporation released a report documenting an unusual propaganda model dubbed the "firehose of falsehood." The report described a strategy where a propagandist could overwhelm the public by producing a never-ending stream of misinformation and falsehoods.

The report found that these lies didn't have to be believable - even clear falsehoods, repeated widely and frequently enough, could be effective in warping public opinion in the propagandist's favor.

It might sound like the RAND report was describing Trump, whose lies are often so blatant they defy explanation.

But the report was actually describing Russian propaganda.

At first glance, Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin seem to have wildly different communication styles. But what they share is a tendency to repeat big, obvious lies. Whether it's denying the presence of Russian troops in Crimea or falsely claiming millions of people voted illegally during the 2016 election, both leaders demonstrate a kind of shamelessness when it comes to telling and retelling big lies.

That's because firehosing isn't actually about persuasion. It's about power.

You can find this video and all of Vox's videos on YouTube. Subscribe for more episodes of Strikethrough, our series exploring the media in the age of Trump.

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At the height of the 2016 election, researchers at the RAND Corporation released a report documenting an unusual propaganda model dubbed the "firehose of falsehood." The report described a strategy where a propagandist could overwhelm the public by producing a never-ending stream of misinformation and falsehoods.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52733220

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/mutated-coronavirus-strain-detected-in-philippines
There is currently a highly infectious disease known worldwide called Coronavirus. I think that the news about this new strain should be reported. Keeping up to date with the new pandemic is always important and will allow us to change our routine accordingly to avoid being infected by the virus.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53605108

For me, justification is a concept that is very much needed in our political climate, especially when taking into consideration what is said and decided on by our government.

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https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1251348/duterte-threatens-to-arrest-officials-corrupting-aid-amid-covid-19

Given that we are currently plagued with a pandemic right now, there are certain government officials who wrongly use power to use the virus to gain money.