The New York Times – The health agency will license much of its material to the online encyclopedia, allowing the information to be reposted widely into almost 200 languages. “As part of efforts to stop the spread of false information about the coronavirus pandemic, Wikipedia and the World Health Organization announced a collaboration on Thursday: The health agency will grant the online encyclopedia free use of its published information, graphics and videos. The collaboration is the first between Wikipedia and a health agency. “We all consult just a few apps in our daily life, and this puts W.H.O. content right there in your language, in your town, in a way that relates to your geography,” said Andrew Pattison, a digital content manager for the health agency who helped negotiate the contract. “Getting good content out quickly disarms the misinformation.” Since its start in 2001, Wikipedia has become one of the world’s 10 most consulted sites; it is frequently viewed for health information. The agreement puts much of the W.H.O.’s material into the Wikimedia “commons,” meaning it can be reproduced or retranslated anywhere, without the need to seek permission — as long as the material is identified as coming from the W.H.O. and a link to the original is included…”
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Daily Archives: October 22, 2020
Trump Issues Order Giving Him More Leeway to Hire and Fire Federal Workers
The New York Times – “President Trump signed an executive order this week that could substantially expand his ability to hire and fire tens of thousands of federal workers during a second term, potentially allowing him to weed out what he sees as a “deep state” bureaucracy working to undermine him. The executive order, issued… Continue Reading
The Media Manipulation Casebook
“Using the Life Cycle of Media Manipulation, each case study features a chronological description of a media manipulation event, which is filtered along specific variables such as tactics, targets, mitigation, outcomes, and keywords…Led by Joan Donovan, PhD, the Technology and Social Change project (TaSC) is a team of interdisciplinary researchers analyzing how contemporary technologies of… Continue Reading
United States of America, General Elections, 3 November 2020: Interim Report
Politico: “The first 2020 U.S. election report by international observers makes for sober reading, Ryan Heath emails us. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — which has 47 member countries including the U.S. — has deployed 30 experts around the U.S. to monitor all aspects of the election through October. While that’s well… Continue Reading
ADL Launches Online Election Incident Reporting Tool in Response to Concerns of Extremist Interference
“In response to growing concerns that extremists could attempt to interfere at the polls in the next few weeks as Americans cast their ballots, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) has established a new online incident reporting tool that will enable voters to flag any potential hate crimes or disruptions involving extremists. In addition to an online… Continue Reading
Pandemic Reality: Law Librarians Grapple With 24/7 Availability, Accelerated Digital Transition
Law.com – LegalTechNews [paywall] Pandemic Reality: Law Librarians Grapple With 24/7 Availability, Accelerated Digital Transition – “HBR Consulting revealed some early survey findings highlighting the impact COVID-19 has had on firms’ law librarians’ workload, print materials and innovation. In law firms’ “new normal,” lawyers may have to quarantine books for 72 hours before they’re placed… Continue Reading
Increased ebook lending popularity leaves publishers worried, librarians still dissatisfied
Via LLRX – Increased ebook lending popularity leaves publishers worried, librarians still dissatisfied – Chris Meadows was a Editor and Senior Staff Writer at TeleRead, a site focusing on e-book and library news. It is with sadness that I share one of his last articles – he passed away last week after a hit and… Continue Reading
Where to Find Public Records Online
Life Hacker – “You can use the internet to find almost anything: a good restaurant, a recording of a half-remembered old commercial, recommendations for a good book, a podcast about basically anything, and yes, even public records. While our most private information (usually) can’t be found online, you can track down items like birth certificates,… Continue Reading
Consumer Reports Study Finds Marketplace Demand for Privacy and Security
Consumer Reports – “American consumers are increasingly concerned about privacy and data security when purchasing new products and services, which may be a competitive advantage to companies that take action towards these consumer values, a new Consumer Reports study finds. The new study, “Privacy Front and Center” from CR’s Digital Lab with support from Omidyar… Continue Reading
AI research has a big problem, and these powerhouse professors are calling it out
Fast Company – “A powerhouse list of professors from Stanford University, MIT, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard School of Public Health, and others want you to know there’s a big problem in AI research. Dozens of AI experts signed an article in Nature saying that unlike research in other scientific fields, top AI studies are often… Continue Reading
CDC rewrites definition for coronavirus ‘close contact’
The Guardian – “The leading US federal public health agency has rewritten its definition of who is at risk of contracting coronavirus to include people who come into close contact with infected individuals in multiple short bursts over a 24-hour period. The new definition of “close contact” issued on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease… Continue Reading
Jews in Europe at the turn of the Millennium: Population trends and estimates
Institute for Jewish Policy Research: “This detailed and thorough report is rapidly becoming the ‘must-read’ study on European Jews – Jews in Europe at the turn of the Millennium – Population – trends and estimates – taking the reader on an extraordinary journey through one thousand years of European Jewish history before arriving at the most… Continue Reading
