Folia lib.

May 20

Look who signed it! David L. Katz!

Posted by Putnam Groove

We are faced with David L. Katz, the very David L. Katz we already know, and who I wrote about in

“J’accuse: Prof. David L. Katz knowingly supports a lethal cancer fraud”
http://www.healbreastcancerawards.org/#davidkatz_2

The text of the open letter is published in several languages. I so far found Dutch, German, English, and Spanish.

Madness rules.

https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/health_disinfo_letter/

[***quote***]
Health Professionals Sound Alarm Over Social Media Infodemic

As doctors, nurses and health experts from around the world, we are here to sound the alarm. Our job is to keep people safe. But right now we face not only a COVID-19 pandemic but a global infodemic, with viral misinformation on social media threatening lives around the world.

Stories claiming cocaine is a cure, or that COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon by China or the US, have spread faster than the virus itself. Tech companies have tried to act, taking down certain content when it is flagged, and allowing the World Health Organization to run free ads.

But their efforts are far from enough.

The tsunami of false and misleading content about the coronavirus is not an isolated outbreak of disinformation, it’s part of a global plague. On Facebook, we have seen claims that chlorine dioxide helps people suffering from autism and cancer; that millions of Americans were given a “cancer virus” via the polio shot; that ADHD was “invented by big pharma”. The list goes on.

By promoting bogus cures, or scaring people off vaccines and effective treatments, these lies matter. And they travel far — one Facebook post claiming ginger is 10,000 times more effective at beating cancer than chemotherapy has been liked, shared and commented on almost 30,000 times.

That’s why today we are calling on the tech giants to take immediate systemic action to stem the flow of health misinformation, and the public health crisis it has triggered.

Working in hospitals, clinics and public health departments across the globe we are all too familiar with the real-world impacts of this infodemic. It’s us who treat the toddlers hospitalised for measles, a completely avoidable disease once eliminated in countries like the US but now on the rise largely thanks to anti-vaxxer propaganda.

Not only do we health professionals deal with such repercussions, but often we are blamed. Misinformation thus dents the morale of an already strained profession, while the financial cost of battling it eats into badly over-stretched budgets.

The diagnosis is grim, so what can be done?

Social media platforms must start with two obvious and urgent steps.

First, they must correct the record on health misinformation. This means alerting and notifying every single person who has seen or interacted with health misinformation on their platforms, and sharing a well-designed and independently fact-checked correction — something shown to help prevent users believing harmful lies. While platforms like Facebook have already moved to label fact-checked misinformation, this system does not go far enough since millions of people may have seen a post before it is fact-checked and labeled. That is why we are urgently calling on Facebook to alert ALL users who have fallen victim to such content, which means going a step further than labeling by providing users with retroactive corrections.

Second, the platforms must detox the algorithms that decide what people see. This means harmful lies, and the pages and groups that share them, are downgraded in user feeds, instead of being amplified. Harmful misinformation, and pages and channels that belong to repeat offenders who spread it, should also be removed from the algorithms that recommend content. These algorithms currently prioritise keeping users online over safeguarding their health, and that ends up downgrading humanity’s well-being.

Technology companies who have both facilitated the spread of ideas and profited from it have a unique power and responsibility to counter the deadly spread of misinformation and stop social media from making our communities sicker. To save lives and restore trust in science-based healthcare, tech giants must stop giving oxygen to the lies, smears and fantasies that threaten us all.

For media inquiries, please contact media@avaaz.org.

If you are a health professional and want to sign on:
Initial Signatories

Elodie Ghedin, PhD
Professor of Biology and Global Public Health at New York University

James M. Hughes, MD
Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Emory University

Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH
Adjunct Professor of Global Health, Duke Global Health Institute

Joseph Fair, PhD, MSPH
Science Contributor, NBC/MSNBC News
Senior Fellow in Pandemic Policy, The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University
Senior Fellow in Global Health, The Smithsonian Institution

Peter G. Lurie, MD, MPH
President, Center for Science in the Public Interest

Abdul El-Sayed, MD, DPhil
Chair, Southpaw Michigan
Former Health Director, Detroit Health Department

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH
Founding Co-Director, EqualHealth
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Duncan Maru, MD, PhD
Epidemiologist and Physician
Senior Faculty, Arnhold Institute for Global Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Co-Founder, Possible

Irwin Redlener, MD
Director, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University
Professor of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics, Columbia University

Dan Schwarz, MD, MPH
Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Instructor, Harvard Medical School

Doctors for America
Evan T. Saulino, MD, PhD
Board Chair

Glen Nowak, PhD
Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication, University of Georgia

Joseph A. Hill, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Molecular Biology, Chief of Cardiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Gregg Gonsalves, PhD
Assistant Professor, Yale School of Public Health

Catarina de Oliveira Paulo
Infectious Diseases specialist
Portuguese National Health System (SNS)

David Citrin, PhD, MPH
Director of Evidence to Policy, Possible Health
Affiliate Assistant Professor, University of Washington

ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)

Rafael Vilasanjuan
Director of Analysis, ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)

Donal Bisanzio, PhD
Senior Epidemiologist, RTI International

Isha Nirola
DrPH candidate in public health

Maciej F. Boni, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University

Meenakshi Bewtra, MD, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Michael Head
Senior Research Fellow in Global Health

Patricia Powers, RN
Staff Nurse, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Philip Lederer, MD
Assistant Professor, Dept of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine

Rachel Nugent, PhD
Vice President, Center for Noncommunicable Diseases, RTI International

Ricardo Mexia, MD, MPH, EPIET
President of the Portuguese Association of Public Health Doctors

Ron Waldman, MD, MPH
Professor of Global Health, George Washington University
President, Doctors of the World – USA

Saikat Roy
Medical Officer, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh

Sheela Maru, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Global Health, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Attending physician at Elmhurst Hospital Center, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation

Shefali Oza, PhD
Epidemiologist, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Vlad Mixich
Health Policy Expert / Executive Director at the Romanian Health Observatory

Dr. Colin Hutchinson, FRCOphth
Chair, Doctors for the NHS

The EveryDoctor team, UK

Professor Christian Drosten
Director, Institute of Virology at Charité Hospital in Berlin
Scientific Director, Charité Global Health

Alberto Cano, MD
Medical Physicist

Wan-Ju Wu, MD
Physician, Boston Medical Center

Antonio Sitges-Serra
Surgeon and Writer

Prof. Dr. med. Jörg Ellinger
Senior Urologist, University Hospital Bonn

Naishadh D. Buch, PharmD, MBA, APhA
American College of Healthcare Executives, Clinical Pharmacist & Hospital Executive

Janneke Zinkstok, MD, PhD
Psychiatrist at University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

Subarna Shrestha, MD
Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Rajeev Fernando, MD
Infectious Diseases Specialist
First Responder, Queens NYC
Founder, CHIRAJ Global Charities

Ranj Singh, BSc, MBBS, MRCPCH
NHS, Emergency Paediatrician, TV Presenter

Jonathan Dworkin, MD
Infectious Diseases Doctor

Hadi Mourad, MD
Doctor of Medicine, Lebanese American University
Member at Lebanese Order of Physicians
Producer and Anchor of Na2Flix Show

Rony Brauman
Professor, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI), University of Manchester
Former President, Médecins sans Frontières

Noha Baz
Pediatrician
Member of the European Academy of Paediatrics
Founder of Les Petits Soleils

Arshia Wajid, MPH, MBA
Founder and Board Member, American Muslim Healthcare Professionals

Aurélien Beaucamp
President of AIDES, partner of the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS

Sarah Kureshi, MD, MPH
Family Medicine Physician and Assistant Professor at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital

Prof. Matteo Bassetti
Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the Policlinico San Martino in Genoa

Chefarzt Dr. rer. nat. Dr. med. Christopher Rommel
Direktor der Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik
Facharzt für Neurologie und Psychiatrie
Psychotherapie, Psychoanalyse
Johanniter-Krankenhaus Treuenbrietzen

Asma Raheem, MD
Envision Physician Services
Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia/Plantation General Hospital

Renato de Ávila Kfouri, Dr.
Director of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Natalia Pasternak Taschner
Research fellow at the Biomedical Institute, University of Sao Paulo,
President of Institute Question of Science

Instituto Questão de Ciência

Juarez Cunha
President of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Isabella Ballalai
Vice-President of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Anirudh Kumar
Physician, NYU Langone Health

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Melanie M. Brinkmann
Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Genetics

Angelo Pan
Director OU Infectious Diseases
ASST Cremona
President SIMPIOS

Giovanni Maga
Direttore Istituto/ Dirigente Ricerca CNR
Istituto Genetica Molecolare CNR
Biologo molecolare, ricercatore

Andrea Crisanti
Professore, Medico
Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare UNIPD

David Duong, MD
Physician, Harvard Medical School

Prof. Edimilson R Migowski, PhD, MSc, MD, MBA
Diretor de Relações Externas (Coordinator of External Relations) at UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro Federal University)

Sally McDonald
Clinical Lead Nurse

Leen Delbaere
Oncology Nurse at Jan-Palfijn Hospital in Gent, Belgium

Tanguy Viaene
MD Pediatrics Resident at University Hospital Ghent, Belgium

Ritu Mahendru
Public health specialist

Ruvani W. Fonseka MPH, MSW
Public Health Researcher

Jonas Van Loocke
Professional Bachelor’s Degree
Nurse at Wit-Gele Kruis in Belgium

Liz-Ann Munro
Lamarre Independent Dental Hygiene Practitioner (IDHP)

Deborah Passey
Research Associate

Mary Crippen
Outreach Manager, Bronx Regional Health Information Organization

Emma Richards
N.D. (retired)

Fatima Lachporia
Registered Nurse (retired)

Ashmal Jameel, MBBS, BSc, FRCOPhth
Ophthalmology Trainee at St. Thomas Hospital

Felicity Edwards
Clinical Spinal Specialist, hospice end of life therapist

Hedie L. Epp
Family Practice Nurse Practitioner

Tatiana Kremenchugskaya
Surgical Assistant

Jillian Rausa
Public Health Practitioner

Michael Lyon
Hospital Biomedical Technician

Angy El-Khatib, MPH, CHES
Health & Wellness Coordinator

Shaddai Martinez Cuestas
Strategic Communications Specialist for Public Health Advocacy

Miguel Castro
Nurse

Shreya Mahajan
RN

Brenda Lane
Clinical Social Worker

Anneke de Boer
Registered Senior Nurse

Liz Kroboth, MPH
Program Manager

Patricia Dunne
Nurse

Katherine Schaff
Health Equity Coordinator

Tarik Khan, MSN, FNP-BC
Family Nurse Practitioner

Cintia Barbosa
Registered Nurse in Boston MA

Jabeen Siddiqui Hamzavi, MD

Wilson Borges
Doutor em Comunicação
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Pesquisador

Juan Francisco Vázquez Costa, MD, PhD
Neurologist at Hospital la Fe

Laura de la Fuente, PhD
Research Assistant at ISGlobal

Flor Villalón, PhD
Hospital Universitario Donostia Paediatric surgeon

Vijay Jain, MD
Integrative physician at Mind body wellness center

Mansi Kotwal, MD
Pediatrician, Children’s National Hospital

David Katz, MD, MPH
President, True Health Initiative
Founding Director, Yale University’s Prevention Research Center

Amadea Heitmann, MD
Consultant Physician at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dr. med. Eckart v. Hirschhausen
Arzt & Wissenschaftsjournalist, Scientists for Future, Stiftung Gesunde Erde – Gesunde Menschen

Dr. Dennis Ballwieser, General Manager
Apotheken Umschau/Wort & Bild Verlag in Munich, Germany

Carol Shoshkes Reiss, PhD
Professor

Tiphaine Joguet
Master Réhabilitation par les activités physiques Adaptées et santé
Centre hospitalier de Lodeve (FRANCE)
Enseignante en Activites Physiques Adaptées

Dr. med. Birgit Lampe, M.A.
Neurologist, Neurologie360Grad Cologne

Cord Benecke, Prof. Dr. Dipl-Psych
Professor für Klinische Psychologie, Leiter der Hochschulanu, Universität Kassel

Dr. med. Bernd Stechemesser
Chefarzt, Hernienzentrum Köln

David Fitch, PhD
Professor of Biology, New York University

Dr. med. Andrea Jobst
Kinderpneumologin, Praxis Dr Jobst

Paul Helman, MD
Internal Medicine, Northshore University Health system

Jakow Diener, MD
Medical Oncologist, Southern NH Med Cntr

Abe Levy, MD
Chief Medical Officer Emeritus, CareMount Medical

Stephan Greve, PT
Physiotherapist

Dr. med. Heinrich Neumann
Pathologe, MVZ Düren

Mitchell R. Lester, MD, AAP, ACAAI, AAAAI, ABAi
Physician

Arnold Schwartz, MD
Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, Orthopedic Spine Care of Long Island

Kara Fine, MD
Endocrinologist, Suburban Endocrinology

Kenneth Hardy Rabin, PhD
Senior Scholar, City University of New York, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Dr. rer. nat. Jens-Uwe Voss
Toxikologe

Dr. med. Andrea Erdmann
Psychiaterin, Oberärztin, Elisabeth Krankenhaus Gelsenkirchen GmbH

Dr. Jens-Chr. Schwindt
Neonatologist/CEO, SIMCharacters GmbH

Levi Jenkins, RRT
Respiratory Therapist

Steffi Wesiger
Facharztpraxis für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie & -psychotherapie
Praxismanagerin & Systemische Beraterin (DGsP)

Kelly Issokson, RD
Clinical Nutrition Coordinator, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Patricia Tollison, PhD
Psychologist

Sarah Temkin, MD
Gynecologic oncologist

Kevin Kuehlwein, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist

Carla Araújo
Doctor

Sérgio Sousa, RN
Public Health Nurse, ULSM

Margarida Leal, MD

Dr. med. Marcus Brabant
Arzt

David Silberhartz, MD
Psychiatrist

Luciana Amorim Duarte, RN
Registered Nurse

Prabodh Gupta, MD
Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Énio Amaral, RN
Nurse, Intensive Care Unit, Curry Cabral Hospital

Catarina Leal, MD
School Nurse, Australian International School

Lucio Meneses-de-Almeida, MD
Public Health Medicine Specialist
Administração Regional de Saúde do Centro (Regional Health Administration of Central Portugal)

Joao Nuno Rossa, MD
Family Practicioner, USF Cynthia – ACES Sintra

Ricardo Soares dos Reis, MD
Neurologist, CHUSJ

Alice Sato, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital/ UNMC
Hospital Epidemiology and Pediatric Infectious Disease
Sign the Open Letter
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2020 Avaaz.org
[***/quote***]

https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/de/health_disinfo_letter/

[***quote***]
Ärzte schlagen Alarm wegen Infodemie auf Social Media

Als Ärztinnen und Ärzte, Krankenpfleger/innen und Gesundheitsexpert/innen aus der ganzen Welt müssen wir jetzt Alarm schlagen. Es ist unsere Aufgabe, für die Sicherheit der Menschen zu sorgen. Wir haben es in diesem Moment allerdings nicht nur mit der COVID-19-Pandemie zu tun, sondern auch mit einer weltweiten “Infodemie”, bei der durch Fehlinformationen, die sich in den sozialen Medien viral verbreiten, auf der ganzen Welt Menschenleben gefährdet werden.

Berichte, in denen behauptet wird, dass Kokain ein Heilmittel sei oder dass COVID-19 von China oder den USA als biologische Waffe entwickelt wurde, haben sich schneller verbreitet als das Virus selbst. Technologieunternehmen versuchen zu reagieren, indem sie bestimmte Inhalte, wenn sie gemeldet werden, löschen und es der Weltgesundheitsorganisation gleichzeitig erlauben, kostenlose Anzeigen zu schalten.

Diese Anstrengungen sind aber bei weitem nicht genug.

Die Flutwelle an falschen und irreführenden Inhalten über das Coronavirus ist kein isolierter Ausbruch von Desinformation, sondern Teil eines globalen Problems. Auf Facebook haben wir Behauptungen beobachtet, dass Chlordioxid Menschen hilft, die an Autismus und Krebs leiden, dass Millionen von Amerikanern durch die Polio-Spritze ein „Krebsvirus“ verabreicht wurde oder dass ADHS von den großen Pharmakonzernen erfunden wurde usw.

Diese Lügen sind von Bedeutung, weil sie falsche Heilmittel anpreisen oder die Menschen von Impfungen und wirkungsvollen Behandlungen abbringen wollen. Und sie haben eine große Reichweite — ein Beitrag auf Facebook, laut dem Ingwer 10.000-mal effektiver bei der Krebsbekämpfung sein soll als eine Chemotherapie, wurde fast 30.000-mal geliked, geteilt und kommentiert.

Deswegen rufen wir heute die Technologieunternehmen dazu auf, sofort und systematisch aktiv zu werden, um die Flut an medizinischen Fehlinformationen sowie die dadurch ausgelöste Gesundheitskrise zu stoppen.

Durch unsere Arbeit in Krankenhäusern, Kliniken und Gesundheitsämtern auf der ganzen Welt kennen wir uns nur zu gut mit den tatsächlichen Auswirkungen dieser Infodemie aus. Wir sind diejenigen, die Kleinkinder mit Masern stationär behandeln – eine vollkommen vermeidbare Krankheit, die in Ländern wie den USA bereits als ausgerottet galt, jetzt aber vor allem dank Impfgegner-Propaganda wieder auflebt.

Als Angehörige der Gesundheitsberufe müssen wir uns nicht nur um die Folgen kümmern, sondern werden oft auch noch dafür verantwortlich gemacht. Fehlinformationen verschlechtern so die Moral eines ohnehin schon unter großem Druck stehenden Berufsstandes, während die finanziellen Kosten der Behandlung ohnehin übermäßig beanspruchte Budgets noch mehr belasten.

Die Diagnose sieht finster aus, was kann also getan werden?

Die sozialen Medien müssen mit zwei offensichtlichen und dringenden Schritten vorangehen.

Zunächst einmal müssen sie Richtigstellungen zu den Gesundheits-Fehlinformationen veröffentlichen. Das bedeutet, dass jede einzelne Person, die auf ihren Plattformen mit Gesundheits-Fehlinformationen in Berührung gekommen ist, gewarnt und benachrichtigt wird, und dass eine gut konzipierte und unabhängig überprüfte Korrektur angezeigt wird — etwas, das nachweislich dabei helfen kann, dass Benutzer nicht an gefährliche Lügen glauben. Während Plattformen wie Facebook bereits dazu übergegangen sind, auf Fakten geprüfte Fehlinformationen zu kennzeichnen, geht dieses Verfahren nicht weit genug, da Millionen von Menschen einen Beitrag sehen können, bevor er auf Fakten geprüft und gekennzeichnet wurde. Deshalb fordern wir Facebook dringend auf, ALLE Nutzer, die solchen Inhalten zum Opfer gefallen sind, zu warnen. Das bedeutet, einen Schritt weiterzugehen als die bloße Kennzeichnung, nämlich indem den Nutzern rückwirkend Richtigstellungen mitgeteilt werden.

Zweitens müssen die Plattformen ihre Algorithmen entgiften, die bestimmen, was den Benutzern angezeigt wird. Das bedeutet, dass gefährliche Lügen sowie diejenigen Seiten und Gruppen, die sie verbreiten, in den Benutzer-Feeds herab- und nicht heraufgestuft werden. Schädliche Fehlinformationen sowie Seiten und Kanäle, die “Wiederholungstätern” gehören, die diese Informationen verbreiten, sollten ebenfalls aus den inhaltsempfehlenden Algorithmen herausgenommen werden. Die Algorithmen konzentrieren sich derzeit mehr darauf, die Benutzer online zu halten, als ihre Gesundheit zu schützen. Und das führt zu einer Beeinträchtigung des gesellschaftlichen Wohlbefindens.

Technologieunternehmen, die sowohl die Verbreitung von Ideen erleichtern, als auch davon profitiert haben, befinden sich in einer unvergleichlichen Machtposition und sind dafür verantwortlich, der tödlichen Verbreitung von Fehlinformationen entgegenzuwirken, um zu verhindern, dass soziale Medien unsere Gesellschaft kränker machen. Um Leben zu retten und das Vertrauen in die wissenschaftlich fundierte Gesundheitsversorgung wiederherzustellen, müssen die Tech-Giganten aufhören, die Lügen, Verdrehungen und Fantasien, die uns alle bedrohen, weiter anzufachen.

Für Medienanfragen wenden Sie sich bitte an media@avaaz.org.

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