A National Strategy to Counter COVID-19 Misinformation
Summary
The United States accounts for over 20% of global deaths related to COVID-19 despite only having 4% of the world’s population. This unacceptable reality is in part due to the tsunami of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 that has flooded our nation. Misinformation not only decreases current compliance with best practices for containing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19, but will also feed directly into resistance against future administration of a vaccine or additional public-health measures.
The next administration should establish an office at the Department of Health and Human Services dedicated to combating COVID-19 misinformation. This office should lead a coordinated effort that:
- Ensures that evidence-based findings are at the core of COVID-19 response strategies.
- Utilizes data science and behavioral analytics to detect and counter COVID-19 misinformation.
- Works with social-media companies to remove misinformation from online platforms.
- Partners with online influencers to promote credible information about COVID-19.
- Encourages two-way conversations between public-health officials and the general public.
- Ensures that public-health communications are supported by on-the-ground action.
Inconsistent data collection makes disaster resilience more challenging than it needs to be. By opening up and making this data consistent, the Biden-Harris Administration can change the way we prepare and mitigate disaster for the better.
The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission called for input from diverse stakeholders and FAS, along with partners Conservation X Labs (CXL), COMPASS, and the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), answered the call. Recruiting participants from academia, the private sector, national labs, and other nonprofits, the Wildland Fire Policy Accelerator produced 24 ideas […]
The U.S. is facing a shortage in both pilot-scale and manufacturing-scale biomanufacturing facilities that severely hinders product development and commercialization.
The space economy is enormous, but one of its biggest challenges is tiny: space debris.