Communications | Penn Today

hand holding a lit cigarette in foreground, parent holding a toddler and putting out their hand to indicate stop smoking in background.

What is your risk from smoking? Your network knows

A new study from researchers at the Annenberg School for Communication found that most people—smokers and nonsmokers alike—were nowhere near accurate in their answers to questions about the health effects of smoking.

This illustration reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

FactCheck.org debunks coronavirus myths

Since China first reported an atypical cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan in late December, myths abound about the virus responsible for the outbreak, the novel coronavirus. To combat misinformation, the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck.org has published a series of articles countering common misunderstandings and mistruths.

How the coronavirus has tested China’s system of information control

Guobin Yang of the Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the Chinese supreme court’s decision to clear eight people in Wuhan accused of spreading rumors about coronavirus. The verdict “says that you can’t punish these eight people. It also reaffirms the rule that you can’t spread rumors,” Yang said. “But what is a rumor, and what is not? That’s still up to the public-security people to decide.”

How to talk someone out of bigotry

Emile Bruneau of the Annenberg School for Communication commented on a promising new study that used “deep canvassing” to challenge prejudices and change minds. However, he said, the study didn’t address the theoretical underpinnings of why the change occurred. “Without that theoretical understanding, it’s difficult to generalize and use the approach in other settings,” said Bruneau.

A person in the foreground standing up in front of a brown desk and table with photos on it.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson honored with National Academy of Sciences award

The award recognizes Jamison for her “nonpartisan crusade to ensure the integrity of facts.”

Is a supermarket discount coupon worth giving away your privacy?

Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication said new corporate disclosure forms for a grocery chain’s customer loyalty program are “scandalous.” “Why does a grocer need to know so much about its customers?” he asked.

Critics fear Facebook fact-checkers losing misinformation fight

Eugene Kiely of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about Factcheck.org and how the site manages Facebook content for review.

Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’ did not increase number of teen suicides, study finds

Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center reanalyzed data on adolescent suicides and found no evidence of a significant increase in suicides after the release of Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” series. “Researchers are looking for that negative effect, and maybe ignoring the fact that some of these shows may help people,” he said. “For some people, the show reduced suicidal tendencies, but it also had a detrimental effect on others. You can’t disentangle them.”

Rep. Maxine Waters thought she was talking to Greta Thunberg. It was actually Russian trolls

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said pranks pulled on U.S. government officials by Russian trolls accomplish two things: “The first [goal] is adding info to a political dialogue in which discrediting one side is useful to Russia. The second is being able to make the argument to the rest of the world that U.S. leaders are easily duped. Putin’s interests are served when U.S. leaders are made to look foolish in the eyes of the world.”

drone shot of Martyr square, showing the Lebanese flag in foreground along with Mohammad Al Amine Mosque and st. George Church in the background, during the Lebanese revolution

A global take on Lebanon protests

Hundreds of thousands of protesters have poured into the streets of Lebanon. Penn Today speaks to two experts on Lebanon to find out why.

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