Kai Kupferschmidt Profile picture
Sep 11, 2020 8 tweets 4 min read Read on X
A lot to think about - as usual - in this great piece by @anneapplebaum which delves into one of the questions that occupies me a lot these days and that every journalist needs to grapple with: "how is it possible to reach people who can’t hear you?"

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
@anneapplebaum I think the piece lays out the problem very clearly.
It’s not just about “access”:
"People who live in this “alternative” news bubble also see or hear “mainstream,” fact-based media. But they reject them. They identify them as the enemy, and they learn to ignore them"
@anneapplebaum It’s not just about facts:
"first, Longwell also thought that an appeal to facts could move reluctant Trump voters to change their mind. But when she played them videos that clearly showed Trump lying, they shrugged it off."
@anneapplebaum It’s about tribe:
"'I’m a Republican, my parents are Republicans, all of my friends are Republicans,' Longwell’s focus-group members told her. To vote differently wouldn’t just be an intellectual decision for these voters. It would tear them away from their tribe."
@anneapplebaum It’s about community:
"What’s important, she told me, is to find people who can offer a crucial form of reassurance: Once you change your vote or your politics, once you break from what everyone around you is doing, #you won’t be alone.’"
@anneapplebaum Since this pandemic started I’ve complained a lot about us not learning from past experiences, from other countries’ experiences, from each others’ experiences.
I like that Applebaum does exactly that, drawing on the Orange Alternative, Operation Libero or the Lincoln Project.
@anneapplebaum Really, go and read the entire piece, it's worth your time.
And remember:
"In this post-mass-media era, sowing division is far easier than creating unity, giving an advantage to politicians who seek to win by creating scapegoats and enemies.”
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
@anneapplebaum I also really like the part about “laughtivism” and using humour as a tool. Though, of course, as a German, that option isn’t available to me. 🤷‍♂️

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More from @kakape

Mar 12
So sad to hear that Paul Alexander passed yesterday at age 78 from Covid-19. Paul contracted polio in 1952, when he was just six years old. He ended up in an iron lung and while he could live outside it for extended periods of time he never really left it.
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Two years ago my colleagues and I talked to Paul for a few polio episodes of our @pandemiapodcast.
Paul told us about the full life he lived, about the horror of the disease, about studying law and practicing as a lawyer, writing a book and much more.
@pandemiapodcast At the time we put out a special episode just with the interview. (There is a German intro til about 8:00. then you can hear the full interview in English though he can be hard to understand over the sound of the iron lung)
files.podcaster.de/podcasthosting…
Read 7 tweets
Aug 4, 2023
The two papers on the #H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in cats in Poland make for really interesting reading. The first describes the outbreak and the second investigates the emergence and transmission.
(I'm on a train again so a brief thread).
"Information about a highly fatal disease in cats with respiratory and nervous system signs began to circulate in social media and among cat lovers in mid-June 2023." Cases were mostly from cities but across the map...
https://t.co/R5vrPnMs0ieurosurveillance.org/content/10.280…
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Symptoms were similar in all cases: "loss of appetite, apathy, hypersalivation, fever ... followed by nervous symptoms such as epileptic seizures, increased muscle tension and sometimes stiffness of the limbs." Most cats were euthanized, the others died a natural death.
Read 10 tweets
Aug 3, 2023
A paper just out in @Eurosurveillanc describes the large and ongoing #H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in fur farms in western Finland with infections in foxes, American minks and raccoon dogs. (Paper mentions 20 farms though 2 more have been affected since):
eurosurveillance.org/content/10.280…
@Eurosurveillanc I wrote about an earlier outbreak on a fur farm in Spain last year and why these are concerning:
Here again it looks likely that the virus was transmitted from mammal to mammal and even between different species:science.org/content/articl…
@Eurosurveillanc “Transmission between fur animals is also supported by the general epidemiological pattern of several hundreds of sick and dead animals on the 20 farms. The exact mechanism of the transmission within and between farms is, however, not yet known.”
Read 9 tweets
Jun 29, 2023
I spoke to @WHO's new chief scientist @JeremyFarrar about why he decided to take the job, what new technologies the world needs to prepare for and how dangerous #SARSCoV2 remains.
Q&A is here (and short thread coming in a bit):
science.org/content/articl…
@WHO @JeremyFarrar Farrar is only the second person to hold this post. @doctorsoumya, who was the first, had to pivot to #covid19 after a few months in the position and so, Farrar told me, "it’s fair to say that the role of chief scientist is still to be fully framed".
@WHO @JeremyFarrar @doctorsoumya He wants to bring "a sense of tomorrow" into WHO, Farrar told me, anticipating new technologies:
"What is coming down the track? What do we need to prepare for now, to ensure that inequality and health disparities are not exaggerated by those new technologies?"
Read 10 tweets
May 5, 2023
The @WHO has just declared an end to the #COVID19 public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
"I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency", says @DrTedros at press conference going on now.
@WHO @DrTedros "That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat", says @DrTedros.
"Last week, COVID-19 claimed a life every three minutes and that's just the deaths we know about."
@WHO @DrTedros "As we speak, thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. And millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post-COVID19 condition", says @DrTedros.
Read 5 tweets
Apr 15, 2023
According to a new update from @WHO, the #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is now up to 15 confirmed cases plus 23 probable cases.
All of the probable and at least 11 of the 15 confirmed cases have died (3 recovered, fate of one is unknown) Image
Of the last 5 cases, 4 were reported in Bata district.
„The presence of confirmed cases in Bata increases the risk of disease spread, as it is the most populated city and economic hub of Equatorial Guinea, with an international airport and port.“
Of the four Bata cases, three have an epidemiological link through a family cluster or through health care setting.
„The fourth and most recent case was reported on 7 April; an investigation of this case is ongoing to establish transmission chains…“
Read 9 tweets

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