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Fake news on the coronavirus has spread faster than the virus itself.

We are all aware that dealing with something you know nothing about is never easy. Especially if that something is a disease that is said to be transmitted through air, and especially if you live in Italy where the commentary on what is happening in the socio-political sphere gets pretty much always out of hand. However, the latest scenario has exceeded expectations.

The panic trigger was the appearance in mid-February of the first cases of Italians affected by the coronavirus. These people have had no contact with the two Chinese tourists already hospitalized in Rome. A 38-year-old man from Codogno, a town near Milan, felt sick and went to the local ER but was sent home; after a couple of days, he came back to the hospital and admitted he had lunch with a friend of his, a businessman who had recently came back from a work trip from China, and the medical staff tested him for the coronavirus. Almost simultaneously, in Vo Euganeo, a town near Padua, an elderly couple tested positive for the coronavirus and the 78-years-old husband died.

The morning after, major newspapers published headlines such as: Virus, the North of fear (La Repubblica), Infections and death, the disease is among us (Il Giorno), Vade retro virus (Libero), Italy infected (Il Giornale). After a 10-hour-long meeting, the government decided to completely isolate the areas in which the virus was spreading, sending military reinforcements to the local police. Next, people lost their self-control. In less than a day, pharmacies ran out of masks and hand-sanitizing gel and the prices of these items on Amazon skyrocketed.

My university in Venice closed, since we were in the same region of Vo Euganeo and my parents and the ones of most of my friends forced us to come home, fearing that the government would isolate our city too where the first two cases had occurred. In the meantime, people looted supermarkets even in regions where no cases of the illness had been found and social media was invaded with videos of people running through supermarket aisles with two shopping carts full of food and water.

It is debatable whether talk shows and the media as a whole were the major cause of this exaggerated and hysterical reaction to a possible pandemic. However, after the first case was officially linked to Covid-19, television media started inviting virologists on a daily basis, sometimes more than one at a time, to discuss the virus, often exploiting the differing explanations among them as in a political debate.

When the government and the press realized that the situation was getting completely out of control, not only among the citizens but also with regards to the economy with a 4 per cent decline in the Milan stock market by the second day, an increase in the spread between the Italian BTP and the German BUND and an increasingly dramatic situation for small business owners they changed their tune. Overnight, newspapers switched from a the end is nigh attitude to its little more than a flu, you just need to wash your hands and the government, which frantically ordered the closure of churches, museums and theatres, gave permission to reopen almost everything.

All the measures applied in order to pacify the population, backfired. People mistrusted the new calm and language of reassurance, relying instead on social media and talk shows as their primary sources of information.

Too much had been revealed to the population, and now the main goal was to keep people calm, even though the danger was increasing. Instead of creating panic and sensationalising news of the virus, the press, urged by the government, finally started giving actual numbers and data in place of spreading alarmism with catchy headlines. Fake news under the form of voice messages of people who pretended to be doctors started circulating on WhatsApp, spreading completely wrong and non-scientific information about the nature of the virus and how to protect yourself from it. Fake cases were reported daily and conspiracy posts on social media regarding the reason of the spreading of the disease were taken as legitimate press.

Peoples confusion was such a concern for the authorities that the Italian government activated the public utility number 1500 in order to answer citizens questions about the virus.

Social media was once again used as a quick and inexpensive propaganda machine by the League and Fratelli dItalia, two major far-right parties, to mobilize their voters against immigrants and demand for the closing of our ports in Southern Italy for health-related safety. This, despite the fact that three of the most affected regions (Lombardia, Veneto and Emilia Romagna) are all in the North and two of them are and have been governed by the League and centre-right for years. Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni, the leaders of the aforesaid parties, called for the resignation of the government which, according to them, is not doing enough to stop the spread of the disease. Even Alessandra Mussolini, the niece of Benito Mussolini, was invited on TV to say what she thought about the coronavirus situation.

The latest official data shows 3,858 as infected, among which 1,155 are not even hospitalized but at home in self-isolation. So far, 148 are dead and 414 have recovered. The numbers should not have caused such fear in a nation composed of over 60 million citizens. However, in a nation where the current government is mistrusted and people have to relearn how to receive and give news properly, the most reliable information continues to be what one finds on their favourite Facebook group.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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Italys battle with coronavirus and misinformation - Shout Out UK

USA TODAY answers a question you may be wondering: Is coronavirus worse than the flu? USA TODAY

As panic over the novel coronavirus rises, myths and misinformation have begun to circulate.

Across social media and in communities that are starting to see their first cases, people have been wondering whether the flu has a higher mortality rate and if healthy people should stock up on masks.

Health professionals and others have answeredsome of the most common questions people have been asking about the virus researchers still don't know much about.

Yes. Seasonal flu shots are important to protect yourself from the flubut are not effective against coronavirus.

No. The flu and coronavirus are two different illness and the flu shot will not protect someone from coronavirus.

The general public does not need to wear masks. Those who are sick should wear masks to prevent germs from spreading to others.

Yes. Research on the mortality rate of coronavirus is still ongoing, but the World Health Organization announced March 3 that estimates put the global rate at about 3.4%, compared to 0.1% for the flu.

In Iowa: Here's the latest on cases and what you need to know

We answer the often searched question: "What are the symptoms of coronavirus versus the flu?" USA TODAY

No. The new coronavirus is not a bioweapon engineered by scientists in China. Early last month, bloggers began to circulate a theory on social mediaand other websitesthat the virus was man-made.

Scientists are still researching how COVID-19 emerged but say it is not man-made. The first infection, reported in December2019,was linked to a marketin Wuhan, China. It's still unclear how transmission unfolded.

No, it's free.FactCheck.org reportedthat aclaim that a test for COVID-19 costs patients in the U.S. more than $3,000 originatedon Twitter, where it amassed more than 250,000 likes and retweets. It became a meme that spread on Facebook.

In actuality, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of two testsone from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one from the New York State Department of Public Healthand neither agency charges patients for the test, according to FactCheck.org.

More: Iowa biotech firm says it has produced enough coronavirus tests for 700,000 patients

If someone suspects they have coronavirus, they should consult with their doctor and public health professionals. Coronavirus has a range of symptoms and can be more dangerous to those with underlying conditions. People who suspect they have coronavirus should also call ahead before visiting the doctor so physicians can be prepared.

Think you have coronavirus?Call first! Here's what to expect at the doctor's office

In apress briefing last month,Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC'sNational Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, cast doubt on this rumor. "Im happy to hope that it goes down as the weather warms up, but I think its premature to assume that, and were certainly not using that to sit back and expect it to go away," Messonnier said.

Like the common cold and flu, COVID-19 spreads through respiratory droplets, and most viral respiratory diseases have seasons. They spread more during the colder months, but you can still get sick from them during the warmer months, too.

Funny, but no. In January, the alcoholic beverage from Mexicoshowed a surge in Google searches, along with the term "corona beer virus"and "beer virus."

In the United States, Google Trends calculated that 57% of the people that searched one of those terms searched for "beer virus,"and the remaining 43% searched for "corona beer virus." States like Hawaii, New Mexico and Kansas searched"beer virus" more, whereas states like South Carolina, Colorado and Arizona searched "corona beer virus" more.

FactCheck.org reported that astory circulating on social media falsely claimedthat the Vatican has confirmed that the pope and two of his aides tested positive for the virus. Several Italian news outlets also reported that the Pope was tested for the virus.

The Vatican has not verified any of these claims, nor has it disclosed whether or not the pope was tested for the coronavirus, according to FactCheck.org. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement saying, "The cold the Holy Father was diagnosed with recently is running its course, with no symptoms related to other pathologies."

Social media users sharing a CDC infographic showing various styles of facial hair have suggested that the agencyis instructing people to shave beards and mustaches to prevent the coronavirus.

The infographic actually has nothing to do with the new virus. The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthfirst published the image in 2017to show workers what types of facial hairstyles work with a tight-sealing respirator.Facial hair that lies along the sealing area of a respirator, such as beards, sideburnsor some mustaches, interferes with respirators that rely on a tight facepiece seal to achieve maximum protection, according to the CDC.

People will not be able to immediately tell if someone has coronavirus. Symptoms initially present similar to the flu, and people should visit their doctors if they are concerned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not received any reports of pets or other animals contracting the coronavirus. There is also no evidence to support claims that animals can spread coronavirus to people. However, animals can spread other diseases to people, so Dr. Caitlin Pedati, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, said people should always make sure to wash their hands after being around animals.

Health officials are not sure yet how contagious coronavirus is.

The time period for recovery will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and might vary depending on the person.

Grace Hauck and Adrianna Rodriguez contributed to this article.

Sarah LeBlanc covers trending newsfor the Register. Reach her at 515-284-8161 or sleblanc@registermedia.com.

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Myth or fact: We dispel the rumors surrounding the coronavirus - Des Moines Register

The debate over whether parents should leave a wailing baby to cry it out or rush to their aid has been reignited by research that suggests allowing them to bawl does no harm.

Attachment theory suggests parents should dash to calm their infants, and proponents say leaving infants to cry could have knock-on effects including damaging the bond between parent and child and raising the infants stress levels.

Others, however, argue that picking a baby up reinforces crying, and that parents should leave the child.

Now researchers say they have found that leaving infants to cry has no impact on their behavioural development or their attachment to their mother, but may help them develop self-control.

Prof Dieter Wolke, the co-author of the study from the University of Warwick, said the findings suggest parents should not worry too much about which approach they take.

We may have made a mountain out of a molehill, he said.

Amy Brown, a professor of child public health at Swansea University who was not involved in the research, said the study should be treated with caution. Few mothers in the study often left their infant to cry it out until they reached 18 months, she said, and the study did not consider how long parents left their child or whether they found it helpful.

This doesnt prove that controlled crying is a beneficial thing, she said. . Nor does the study talk about how distressing a lot of mothers find it when their baby cries.

Writing in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Warwick report how they followed 178 babies and their mothers in the UK from birth to 18 months.

Mothers were asked to fill in questionnaires to report how often they left their baby to cry it out at several points in time: shortly after birth and at three months, six months and 18 months. They were also asked how often and for how long their child cried at various point in the day as a newborn and at three months and 18 months.

At three and 18 months the team explored how sensitive the mother was towards their infant, using video-recorded interactions between the two, and at 18 months it assessed the childrens behavioural development and attachment to their mother.

The team found mothers rarely left their baby to cry as newborns, but the practice became more common as the child grew older, with about two-thirds of mothers allowing the infant to cry sometimes or often by 18 months.

That, the researchers add, appears to bring benefits, noting that children left to cry a few times as newborns cried for shorter periods at 18 months.

The team say the practice seems does not seem to cause harm. It saw no negative impact on the level of attachment between mother and child, the mothers sensitivity or the behavioural development of the child at 18 months, the latter assessed through a combination of techniques including a questionnaire completed by the parent, a psychologists report and watching the infant play with its mother.

We neither recommend leaving infant to cry out nor responding immediately, the authors write. Wolke said the findings suggested parents intuitively know how to best to respond to their infant, and both they and the child adapt over time.

He also said the research did not mean parents should just ignore a crying infant, particularly early in life.

Crying is the only way of communication of a baby, for example for feeding, safety and things, he said. So caregivers should react to the crying, and automatically we do this. Letting the baby cry for a few minutes may be helpful though, he added, particularly if it is not feeding time. Then they can learn how to self-soothe themselves, he said.

The study has limitations, including that it relied on reports of crying rather than direct observation. Nor was it able to unpick whether leaving the child to wail is the cause of shorter subsequent crying periods.

Wolke said that because of parents strong attitudes on the topic, it would not be possible to carry out a randomised control trial to explore the issue.

Dr Charlotte Faircloth, an expert on parenting from University College London, said the cry it out issue was hotly debated.

The new study will be reassuring for many parents who have used these kinds of approaches with their babies, but as the study authors suggest, more credit should be given to parents in trusting that they will find an approach that suits them and their families, she said.

Stephen Scott, a professor of child health and behaviour at Kings College, said a number of studies had shown that overindulged children can lack resilience and develop difficulties later in life.

He also said the latest findings made sense from an evolutionary point of view. It is very unlikely that in the jungle when we were in our caves and off hunting, that a child left to cry for a bit would then be damaged by it, he said. It just wouldnt make for a very resilient species, and yet we are incredibly resilient.

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Should you let babies 'cry it out'? Debate reignited by new study - The Guardian

These Google Chrome tricks will help you keep your browser organized.

Google Chrome is the world's most popular browser, and for good reason. It's packed with useful tools that connect you to the internet every day, likedark mode,toolbar playback controlsand a "privacy sandbox" coming later this year. But it's also hard to keep up with all the browser changes. After all, you can't very well store your login credentials inChrome's password managerif you don't know it exists.

Sure, you know how to open a private window, but have you ever wonderedeverything that incognito mode is good for? Or, maybe you're one of those people likemy CNET office neighbor who's always got a zillion tabs open. Ever wish there were abetter way to manage all that clutter?

These are my seven (current) favorite shortcuts, productivity hacks and other nifty Google Chrome features that you might not have know about yet.

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For some, incognito mode is practically synonymous with lewd photos and raunchy videos. Hiding the evidence is just one of the many judicious reasons to consider opening a private browser window. But since incognito mode covers your online tracks and also disables cookies -- data files that tell websites stuff like who you are, where you are and when you last visited -- a private browsing window can help in other ways, too.

Use Google Chrome's incognito mode to check your email or social media accounts on public computers without leaving your credentials behind when you close the browser.

For example, if you open an incognito window to check your Gmail (or use any web service that requires a username and password), anyone logged in before you will be, in effect, logged out. You can then log in with your own username and password.

After you're finished with Gmail, Facebook, Amazon or whatever, rather than manually logging out, you can just close the window you're working in and the entire session will be scrubbed from browser history like it never happened.

To open a Chrome window in Incognito Mode, either select File from the Menu Bar, then New Incognito Window or press Command-shift-N on a Mac or Control-Shift-N on a Windows computer.

One of the downsides to letting your friends check their Gmail or Facebook account using Chrome's incognito mode on your computer is that they may also be able access your browser history, your email, your Facebook account and so on.

If privacy and security are of supreme importance to you (or you just don't trust your friends), Chrome's Guest Mode adds another layer of protection.

Basically, Guest Mode is Incognito Mode on steroids. Chrome load up like it's never been on the internet before, without browsing history and cookies, and will block access to other Chrome profiles,like the one where you keep all your usernames and passwords. And the only browser setting guest mode users can change is the default search engine, so you'll get your browser back more or less the way you had it.

To open a Chrome window in Guest Mode, tap the profile icon in the upper right corner of the Chrome browser and then select Guest.

How many tabs do you keep open at at time? Whether it's one or one hundred, Google Chrome can help keep them organized.

If you're not using a password manager,you should be. Chrome makes it easy to use the one that comes baked into the browser to store your logincredentials. Not only does it fill in your username and password for you online, you can manage your passwords and see if any of your login credentials have been compromised at Chrome's companionPassword Manager website.

Tabbed browsing was meant to help organize the clutter of multiple open browser windows, but it doesn't take long to make a mess of tabs, either. Thankfully, Chrome has a few built-in features that'll help you keep your tabs organized, find the tab you're looking for and save the day when you accidentally close a tab you needed to stay open. Here's how:

Reorganize tabs: Think of tabs like sticky windows -- when they get close to one another they attach, but when you pull them apart, they stay that way. You can rearrange the tabs in your active browser window by clicking and dragging them around. You can pull a tab out from your active window to create its own window. You can also drag tabs from one window to another. Thanks to an update from Microsoft, you can alsomove multiple tabs around at once -- just hold the Shift key down while selecting multiple tabs and then drag to a new location.

Right click to the right of the last open tab to reopen the last tab you closed.

Search the omnibox for open tabs: What used to be called simply the address bar Chrome now refers to as the "omnibox." That's because you can type the URL for a website you want to visit and also start a Google search from the same multipurpose ibox. However, another lesser-known trick is to use the omnibox to search your open tabs. Just type whatever keywords you remember from the tab you want and look for results labeled Switch to this tab among the results.

Use shortcut keys to change tabs: Command-tab will switch between open windows on a Mac, and Control-tab does the same on a Windows PC, but replace the tab button with a number, say, Command-3 (or Control-3 on Windows) and Chrome will switch to the third tab from the left.

Reopen a closed tab: This one can be a lifesaver. If you ever accidentally close a tab you needed to stay open, go to the History menu and under Recently Closed, reopen the tap or right-click to the right of the last tab at the top of your browser window and tap Reopen Closed Tab.

For more tips like these, check out our clever Gmail tricks to minimize regret, frustration and spam, as well as our five Google Maps tips to see more than just what's on the map.

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Google Chrome is the world's top browser. Stop missing out on its 7 best tools - CNET

The rise of populism a political argument that pits ordinary people against a corrupt, government elite is putting democracy at risk, said Stanford scholars in a new white paper released today.

When populist leaders discredit formal institutions and functions, democracy is being undermined and hollowed out, warns Stanford political scientist and paper co-author Anna Grzymala-Busse.

Stanford political scientist Anna Grzymala-Busse has co-authored a white paper that examines the threat global populism poses to democracy. (Image credit: Andrew Brodhead)

Here, Grzymala-Busse discusses what is at stake for democracies worldwide if populist rhetoric continues to take hold. As Grzymala-Busse points out, populists grievances about government failures are not entirely baseless. Thats why Grzymala-Busse and the papers co-authors who include director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, and political scientists Francis Fukuyama and Didi Kuo argue that populism is a political problem that requires political solutions.

Their paper, Global Populisms and Their Challenges, released Mar. 11 through the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), outlines what mainstream political parties must do to protect democracies from populists, including strategies such as reclaiming the rule of law and upholding democratic norms and values.

Why do some politicians find populist arguments so appealing?

Populism argues that elites are corrupt and the people need better representation, but makes very few policy commitments beyond this criticism. Theres been increasing distrust regarding political parties and politicians, especially given various funding and election scandals. And so people readily believe that these actors are corrupt and not to be trusted.

It is a message that is credible these days. It is also a message that doesnt tie politicians down to any other ideological or policy commitment.

Why is populism on the rise?

The immediate causes are the failures of mainstream political parties parties of the center-left and center-right to meet voter concerns and respond with distinct policies. In both Europe and in the United States, many voters who support populists want a change from politics as usual, which they view as unresponsive and unaccountable, and who fear losing cultural and economic status. They perceive that politicians have failed to respond to immigration, free trade, international cooperation, and technological advances and the threats they pose to many voters.

According to your research, what makes populist rhetoric detrimental to democratic governance?

Stanford political scientists Francis Fukuyama, Anna Grzymala-Busse and Neil Malhotra discuss why populist messages have emerged in contemporary politics and how they have evolved into larger, political movements.

Populist politicians and governments view the formal institutions of liberal democracy as corrupt creations spawned by crooked establishment elites and so they systematically hollow out and undermine these institutions, such as the courts, regulatory agencies, intelligence services, the press, and so on. They justify these attacks as replacing discredited and corrupt institutions with ones that serves the people or, in other words, populist parties and politicians. Moreover, precisely because populists claim to represent the people, they have to define the people first and that often means excluding vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as religious or ethnic minorities and immigrants.

For example, in Hungary, the governing populist party brought the courts under political control, abolished regulatory agencies, and funneled funding to allied newspapers and media. In Poland, the chair of the governing populist party refers to his opponents as a worse sort of Poles.

In the short term, what can be done to counter the effects of populism?

Vote! Vote for politicians and parties who make credible promises, who do not simply want to shut down criticism or who view their opponents as their enemies, and who are committed to the democratic rules of the game. At the same time, we need to understand, not just condemn, why so many voters find populist politicians appealing.

And in the long term?

Mainstream political parties need to credibly differentiate themselves, become far more responsive to their voters and consistently articulate and uphold the democratic rules of the game. Our research finds that where mainstream political parties are strong, populists stand far less of a chance of making inroads. Such parties would also be far more responsive to voter concerns about economic and cultural status, which also motivate populist support.

Some of the papers findings are from Global Populisms, a project sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation at FSIs Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CCDRL).

Grzymala-Busse is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences and a senior fellow at FSI. She is also co-leading The Changing Human Experience initiative, which is part of Stanfords Long-Range Vision.

Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the Director of the Ford Dorsey Masters in International Policy, and the Mosbacher Director of CCDRL.

McFaul is also the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in Political Science in the School of Humanities and Sciences; and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a senior fellow at FSI.

Kuo is a senior research scholar and the associate director for research at CCDRL.

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Populism jeopardizes democracies around the world | Stanford News - Stanford University News