Analysis of nearly 100,000 tweets demonstrate that those following the tweets with hashtags related to the Georgia Senate Elections see a story that shows support for a Democratic win
One of the most watched elections of the 2020 cycle has been the runoff elections in Georgia where the people will be voting for two Senate seats on January 5, 2021. The stakes are high with a Democratic Administration about to arrive with a Democratic House majority. As stated in an Associated Press report: “Democrats need a sweep for a 50–50 Senate, positioning Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to tilt the chamber…
It is possible, with reliance on science, friends, and common sense, to make a trip from USA to India and back within nine days even with changed travel conditions
Assume yourself and everyone around is infectious.
Here is the chronicle of a journey, usually routine and mundane which I have done numerous times, but now done within the context of travel conditions that will become the way we travel in the future. Perhaps this will offer some indications on how to go to India from the USA in the future. …
Over 14,000 tweets with the hashtag #hydroxychloroquine over a few weeks shows a story that the people who follow the hashtag could get the impression that HCQ is a possible cure for the disease.
On June 3, 2020 the New England Journal of Medicine published an article where the findings stated: “After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure.” This is an example of one of the reports in a respected science outlet that casts doubts on the efficacy of…
Analysis of nearly 6,000 tweets shows an ambiguous story about the relationship between Dr. Fauci and President Trump
The media is abuzz with speculations of the relationship between the White House, President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The doctor has been one of the faces of the regular White House Task Force on COVID-19 when the televised press conferences were regular affairs earlier in the Spring of 2020. Now, there are reports of increasing doubts about the position of Dr. Fauci in the messaging about the disease.
While the media was reporting on the tensions people took to tweeting about the matter using the hashtag #fauci. A narrative analysis of the tweets, using the narb analytic process that…
People may wear masks if the media offered a consistent and authentic information about the risks associated with COVID-19
The question of American mask use(or not) has been connected primarily with political leanings claiming that the mandatory use of the mask is an affront to personal liberty and freedom. It might be time now to offer a more consistent and defensible risk narrative which is consistent across media outlets to show that the use of the mask lowers the risk.
There is always some amount of uncertainty about the level of risk from a pandemic, especially since there is little…
Short-form Video Will Need A Quick Replacement
On June 29 the Government of India banned a large set of Chinese application programs that could be used on smartphones in India. The outcome of the ban is that people in India, connected to the Internet through Indian cell phone providers or Indian Internet Service providers, are unable to find the apps in the app stores online and will soon be unable to use the apps on their phones because the apps need to be able to connect to the Internet and that will be prohibited.
This somewhat predictable move comes on the wake of the existing narrative in…
Ananda Mitra
My research and teaching interests include media and technology and its impact on everyday life available at http://ananda.sites.wfu.edu/
