These are the top messages circulating and trending today in conservative and liberal circles.
Conservative:
1) China engaging in disinfo.
2) US found by Johns Hopkins study to be most prepared
3) Returning to work in 2 weeks necessary
Liberal:
1) Virus worsening and death toll increasing.
2) Stimulus bill inadequate due to corporate favorable language.
3) Trump wants to reopen in 2 weeks against medical advice.
Things to note about each of these stories:
The focus on China, what they're doing, what they did, and what conspiracies they're suggesting is being heavily amplified in conservative news circles even though those stories are not circulating in China itself and are mostly confined to English language press. As Wuhan resumes production there is a sense of bitterness that the origin point of the crisis is able to economically restart while the rest of the world waits.
The Johns Hopkins study, it should be noted, is based on capacity of public and private infrastructure as compared to other nations and was a computer simulation of what would happen in the event of a coronavirus outbreak. Thereafter, nations were given a score. This story is being amplified usually as a means of tamping down criticisms that the Trump administration didn't act quickly enough, although the study says nothing about actual actions taken and only speaks to theoretical preparedness. You can read more about it here:
Pandemic simulation exercise spotlights massive preparedness gap
The virus is indeed worsening and mortality is increasing, but the prominence of death and infection toll numbers in certain media suggests an effort to give cover to state and local leaders implementing or enforcing shutdowns, even though they are unpopular. Some governors and mayors of large urban centers are preparing to add police power to enforcing stay at home directives on the basis of these numbers (See e.g. Chicago). This week is when cases are projected to spike substantially.
The stimulus bill circulating through Congress is being painted as inadequate for not addressing families and individuals and prioritizing corporate relief. In reality, there will need to be multiple stimulus packages over the next several months, so getting one done to keep firms solvent first to continue to pay workers before moving to extensive direct payment schemes mostly represents a philosophical difference. There is fear that without assurances corporations will trim their workforces anyway so Dems are pushing for 90% retention of workforce as a requirement for corps to receive funds. Repubs generally say business owners need discretion to do what they feel is in the best interest of their companies, even if it means layoffs, which would then transfer employees to government direct payments via unemployment and benefits spending as needed.
Regarding 2 weeks, Conservative sources have emphasized that it might be a worthwhile sacrifice while liberal sources have painted it as unrealistic and a sign of Trump allegedly being delusional. In reality, 2 weeks means little. Trump said he was open to reassessing in 15 days and didn't pledge anything. Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick has notably emerged saying he'd die for his country to produce again and Trump of course tweeted that we "can't let the cure be worse than the disease." It should be noted that states would still have the discretion to keep lockdown policies in place even if the President directed CDC to amend its recommendations. The 2 week narrative is leading to hysteria across liberal social media even as its underlying premise of sacrificing the olds for the sake of the economy is more slowly diffusing across conservative media. My expectation: in 2 weeks Trump cites the enhanced death toll as the reason he regrettably can't alter the CDC recommendations, based on expert advice, though economic pressure is building to resume production and states with low infection rates for the time being are exploring how they might do so.
Beware of hashtags during this time and search them before circulating them as they can be easily hijacked and repurposed. Also note that forwards you receive on FB and/or Whatsapp with claims about the virus or at home treatments if you get sick are likely misinformation and should be deleted rather than forwarded. Sites like FactCheck.org are attempting to stay on top of these messages and usually will have some reference to them which you can link and send back to whomever sent the messages to you. Encourage the sender to send the Fact Check to everyone they sent the message to in order to stem the tide of misinformation.
Stay safe on these internets folks.
