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So she created a digital news consortium, Courier, with sites in key 2020 states. She started her own PAC, Pacronym, to attack Mr. Trump across the web, and, in a coup, hired the Facebook specialist assigned to Mr. Trumps 2016 campaign.

But Acronym faced an existential challenge after a firm it backed, Shadow, won the rights to tabulate the Iowa caucus results, only to see its app fail to produce a final outcome. While Ms. McGowans donors and board stuck with her, a new round of hand-wringing about the partys technology ensued.

The partys hopes turned to Mr. Bloomberg and the tech-driven operation he vowed to use against Mr. Trump, win or lose. Earlier this month, he announced he was folding his digital tent along with his campaign.

A trans-Atlantic group called the Alliance of Democracies last year issued a Pledge for Election Integrity, forswearing the use of disinformation, troll networks and deceptively edited content.

The online list has nearly 200 signers from the European Union but only one from the United States Mr. Biden.

Last week, the loneliness of Mr. Bidens pledge was apparent as a false document purporting to show he had tested positive for Covid-19 began circulating on Twitter among Trump supporters, on 4Chan and in far-right Telegram groups. This time, the campaign hit back on social media.

Mr. Bidens digital director, Rob Flaherty, said the campaign would respond forcefully when a false attack threatened to reach critical mass, and would keep pressing social media platforms to police false content. (Facebook ultimately agreed to label the deceptive Biden video partly false.) But, he said, the campaign would stick to Mr. Bidens own pledges. You ask people, what does fight fire with fire mean? he said. They net out at lie, and were just not going to do that.

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Trump Won the Internet. Democrats Are Scrambling to Take It Back. - The New York Times

NEW YORK Sister love playing out in a living-room hair trim. A botched home dye job with a silver lining. Stylists shipping out kits of personalized colour with promises to talk their regulars through the process via FaceTime.

As the spread of the coronavirus sends more people into isolation, trips to beloved salons and barbershops for morale-boosting services and camaraderie are on hold.

While some brazenly cut themselves new bangs, turn to over-the-counter colour or try picking up electric clippers and scissors to work on the heads of loved ones, others are letting nature take its course.

Memes and real-life stories are flying about cuts gone bad and the onslaught of gray hair, along with out-of-control eyebrows, sad lash extensions and overdue nail work. While such things seem frivolous in the sad and desperate crush of the pandemic, many people are reaching for rituals as emotional relief and connection to their longstanding way of life.

Mary Beth Warner in Syracuse, New York, has a lighthearted air about her as she hunkers down with her husband and 17-year-old son, but she isnt laughing on the inside.

I remember my mom used to say during the war, as long as they could get lipstick they were happy, she said. Thats how I feel right now about my hair.

Warner, 63, usually travels to Manhattan for colour appointments every four weeks with Frank Friscioni at Oon Arvelo Salon. Hes been doing her colour (blonde) for 25 years.

Shes past her regular appointment, but rather than take on the task herself, shes wearing a baseball cap to walk her dog until she can coax Friscioni up for a house call, something hes doing with other clients closer to the city.

Oh I love my Frank, Warner said. I dont trust anybody else. Right now Im mortified for anybody to see. Emotionally, it means a lot. I dont care if I die as long as my hair is blonde in that coffin.

Others are more settled in letting their gray hair fly. Comedian-actor Kevin Hart puts videos on Instagram chronicling his life at home with salt-and-pepper hair and beard. Hashtag: #GreyHairDontCare.

Everybodys going gray. Im going to embrace it right now. I look like Morgan Freemans nephew, he told Ellen DeGeneres in one of the celebrity phone chats shes posting on Instagram from her Los Angeles home.

For others, styles are going shaggy as they rediscover ponytails, buns, and dusty stashes of headbands and hair baubles.

Not the Hinds sisters.

The younger, 18-year-old Sophie, calmly read a book as her 20-year-old sister, Fiona, nervously lopped a good 7 inches off her long reddish blonde hair at home on Manhattans Upper West Side, creating an adorable bob.

Fiona said she boned up for the task by watching one YouTube video that we didnt even finish. We watched the first five minutes.

To which Sophie responded: Are you kidding? You didnt tell me that.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, stylist Scarlett Howell voluntarily cancelled all appointments for at least two weeks. Shes relying in part on savings to pay her bills.

Theres a lot of salon owners and stylists who refuse to close until its mandated, and so theyre actively putting people at risk, she said. Its incredibly frustrating.

Howell doesnt recommend DIY cuts or coloring using professional products that are stronger and trickier than over-the-counter varieties.

Its really damn hard to cut your own hair, she said.

Some of her regulars are paying for their cancelled appointments.

My clients are my family, Howell said, breaking down in tears. It really means a lot for people to reach out.

Kelly Cardenas, who shut down his salons in Las Vegas, Chicago and Carlsbad, California, calls the DIY hair experiments playing out in homes and on social media a mere 15 minutes of feeling OK that could take your hairdresser up to a year to fix.

Debra Hare-Bey, a braider and stylist in Brooklyn, said black hair, depending on texture, length and style, might pose home challenges for those used to relying on specialists. Asked how her clients are feeling now that her home business is closed until the health emergency subsides, she said: Its pandemonium. Pure and simple. Theyve lost their minds.

Mylena Sutton, 43, in Haddonfield, New Jersey, isnt ready to take matters into her own hands.

Im an African American woman with very kinky, curly hair that tends toward being dry. I dont relax my hair, but I do colour it and theres no way in the world that Im attempting that at home, she said.

For now, shes covering her roots with hats, headbands and overall hiding.

Kody Christiansen, a student at New York University, went the box-colour route with a slight mishap, but has no regrets. The 30-something about to graduate with an associates degree was going for platinum, like the person on the box. He wound up a brassy yellow instead, but used a silver spray he had on hand to even out his colour for a two-tone effect.

Its a metaphor for my life, said the Bronx actor and author, who until a few years ago was homeless and addicted to drugs and alcohol. Until recently, my life wasnt anything like life on the box.

Brian Coughlin, 35, in Evanston, Illinois, usually heads to the barber every eight to 10 weeks. He was about a month overdue when he asked his wife, Ashley, to try the clippers.

Huh! huh! Ashley gasped near the end of a YouTube video they made during the process. She forgot to snap on the appropriate attachment for the clippers and carved a bald spot into the back of his hair.

Im sorry. I was doing so good, she said, to which Brian replied: Its OK. Just cut around it and well see what we can do.

___

Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/litalie

Leanne Italie, The Associated Press

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Gray hair, dont care: Cuts and colour lead to home travails - CityNews Winnipeg

Lots of people are looking back at that presumed cold or flu that recently spread through their household or office and asking: Did I already have the novel coronavirus? And if so, what does it mean for me now?

A meme circulating on social media takes these questions even farther, asking: Who got sick in November or December and it lasted 10 to 14 days? If you can answer yes, then you probably had the coronavirus. You guys lived through that. Quit letting the media control you. Now give me back my toilet paper, sports, parades, etc.

Like so many posts that go viral, experts say this one mixes a bit of encouraging potential truth with some inaccurate and potentially dangerous misinformation.

Early exposure, if true, raises questions

First, a cautious silver lining.

Theres a very real chance that some people who had dry coughs, fevers and other symptoms of the coronavirus as far back as December might have already recovered from the disease, according to both Brandon Brown, a public health professor at UC Riverside who specializes in infectious diseases, and Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, an epidemiology professor at UCLA.

If people did beat the virus, both experts said theres a chance those patients cant get it again or spread it to others. That, in turn, means those people might be able to start to return to their usual routines sooner rather than later.

Now for the bad news.

Most people dont know if they actually had the coronavirus because they havent been tested, and there isnt a test available yet that can tell if someone already recovered from the disease. Even if they did get a coronavirus test, or an antibody test to show a past infection, scientists dont yet know for sure if beating novel coronavirus once means long-term immunity. And assuming otherwise could expose more vulnerable people to a potentially fatal disease and extend the pandemic.

Researchers now believe the new coronavirus emerged in mid-November or early December, with a transfer from wildlife to humans at an open-air market in Wuhan, China. The first identified case in the United States was mid-January, in a Washington state man whod recently returned from Wuhan.

It is possible that travelers to or from China may have already been exposed and transmitting COVID-19 to others a few months ago, Kim-Farley said.

But given the slow roll-out and limited supply of test kits combined with the good news that perhaps 80% of coronavirus cases are mild enough that people recover on their own experts say its a near certainty that lots of people whove had the virus simply havent been tested.

Dont make decisions for others

Its risky, though, for people to assume what they had was the coronavirus.

There are other diseases, influenza being one of them, that may have similar symptoms to mild COVID-19, Kim-Farley said. Therefore, it would not be wise to assume that an illness with symptoms compatible to COVID-19 is definitely COVID-19.

If people assume theyve beaten the virus and resume their usual routines, Brown said they can inadvertently spread the infection to others, including older people with compromised immune systems and others who are much more likely to have serious complications or die from the coronavirus. Hence, experts are pushing for physical distancing until the virus subsides.

Its also not 100% clear whether people whove had the coronavirus can or cant get it again.

As with most viruses, Kim-Farley said its believed that people whove beaten the coronavirus will produce antibodies that will protect them against the current strain of COVID-19.

The question of how long that protection will last is still unknown, but is being studied over time, Kim-Farley said.

Also, there have been a few cases, Brown noted, where people tested positive for COVID-19, recovered from the disease, but later tested positive a second time.

It could be that these individuals did not completely clear the virus, he said.

We dont know enough, at this point, Brown added. But we believe that once you are infected and mount an immune response, you are less likely to get sick a second time.

More tests could mean more answers

Thats one reason experts say antibody tests currently in development will be helpful. Such tests could show if someone had the virus previously and has built up a defense.

Once testing becomes more widespread and it is possible to routinely test people, there may be a point at which such people who are immune can be easily identified and they could go back to work even in healthcare settings, Kim-Farley said. That will help us to re-start getting back to normal.

Antibody testing also could help cut down on new transmissions, since Brown said health officials could quarantine those whove been in contact with someone who previously had the virus.

For now, both Brown and Kim-Farley said everyone should continue to follow physical distancing and other safety guidelines recommended by public health officials.

We dont know enough about the virus at this time to believe if we get sick we can go back to our normal lives, Brown said.

Join our Facebook group for updates on coronavirus in Colorado.

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Did I already have coronavirus? Experts say maybe, but it doesnt mean youre immune - Colorado Hometown Weekly

As questionable medical advice circulates widely on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other platforms, and rumors of a national lockdown have spread across group chats and text chains, the novel coronavirus has exposed Americans to a second epidemic that of fake news.

The World Health Organization is calling it an "infodemic": Nearly half of Americans say they've been exposed to at least some fabricated information about the coronavirus, a Pew Research Center Election News Pathways survey found.

Fake news is dangerous, even when its shared with the best of intentions. And in the midst of a public health crisis, it can lead to further harm. An Arizona man died Saturday after ingesting chloroquine phosphate, believing it would protect him from becoming infected with the coronavirus. The man's wife told NBC News she'd watched televised briefings during which President Trump talked about the potential benefits of chloroquine. Trump has minimized the risk the coronavirus poses to the country for weeks, even calling it a hoax overhyped by Democrats.

With misinformation pervasive on social media, the tech industrys ability to crack down on harmful content is being tested. Industry giants Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube published a joint statement voicing their commitment to fighting misinformation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Pop-ups and a new COVID-19 information center on Facebook, for example, have directed more than one billion people to resources from the WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and regional health authorities, the company said in a press release.

Theres still plenty of reliable information out there, though. Newsrooms across the country are working around the clock to ensure people can access factual information from legitimate news sources. Many publications have even increased accessibility by lowering their paywalls for coronavirus coverage.

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Editorial: Curbing misinformation during the coronavirus pandemic - The Daily Tar Heel

With all the change and worry that has come with the spread of COVID-19, it is only natural to be experiencing some anxiety.

But in times like these, where we cant control the situation we are in, it is especially important to take care of what we can control our mental well-being.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) shared some useful information for people on how to cope and help others cope during the pandemic.

On their website is helpful advice for a variety of different situations, such as talking to a friend who is feeling extremely anxious about the virus, how to talk to children about what is going on, how people can deal with feeling lonely, what people should do if they are fearing they may test positive for COVID-19, as well as tips for managing our own stresses, fears and anxiety.

ALSO READ: Researchers study how pandemic affecting peoples mental health

Some of the tips include making sure we are getting credible information from accurate sources, avoiding unfamiliar websites, and intentionally unplugging from electronics and social media.

While staying informed is helpful, too much information may not provide extra benefit, said CAMH.

The centre also suggested trying to stay in balance by practising meditation and relaxation, creating routines for ourselves at home, and trying to tackle smaller stresses in our lives so that any extra stress outside of what we can control can be out of mind.

Choose an activity that works for you and that you are likely to continue doing. Start slowly and gradually work toward a regular practice, the CAMH stated on its webpage, adding links to resources that can help people build a wellness plan while practising social distancing.

Helpful strategies may involve tackling the problems you are facing in a structured way; changing how you are thinking about what you are going through; or working on skills such as relaxation and mindfulness.

And while it may seem too obvious, it is also vital that we remember to be kind to ourselves, try not to continuously ask What if?, eat healthy, exercise and get proper rest, support one another, and reach out support for support if we need it.

For more information please visit the CAMH website. To contact the CAMH, call 416-535-8501, and click option 2. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact 911.

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COVID-19: Coping with isolation, stress and anxiety - Victoria News