{"id":2536,"date":"2021-12-04T07:45:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-04T06:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/04\/fact-check-are-warnings-about-virus-variants-meant-to-keep-the-fear-going-austin-american-statesman\/"},"modified":"2021-12-04T07:45:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-04T06:45:11","slug":"fact-check-are-warnings-about-virus-variants-meant-to-keep-the-fear-going-austin-american-statesman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/2021\/12\/04\/fact-check-are-warnings-about-virus-variants-meant-to-keep-the-fear-going-austin-american-statesman\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact-check: Are warnings about virus variants meant to &#039;keep the fear going&#039;? &#8211; Austin American-Statesman"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cfbc967f0983488262956e73eca9483a\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3859091246952232\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- blok -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3859091246952232\" data-ad-slot=\"1334354390\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p><span><strong>Viral Facebook post:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Don\u2019t be fooled by the next \u2018Variant.&rsquo;\u00a0There are actually 1000\u2019s of them. They just will pick the next one to keep the fear going.\u00a0\u00bb<\/span><br \/><span><strong>PolitiFact&rsquo;s ruling:<\/strong> Partly False<\/span><br \/><strong>Here&rsquo;s why:<\/strong> Social media users are sharing a misleading post that claims public health agencies have thousands of fake COVID-19 variants lined up and are revealing them one by one to stoke fear.<br \/>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/2YFKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Facebook post<\/a>\u00a0is the latest version of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/article\/2020\/dec\/16\/lie-year-coronavirus-downplay-and-denial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">conspiracy theories<\/a>\u00a0about the coronavirus being planned, or faked, or a hoax. It follows similar internet rumors that claimed, also falsely, that the name of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/article\/2021\/nov\/29\/omicron-and-other-coronavirus-variants-what-you-ne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">new omicron variant<\/a>\u00a0is evidence that the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/factchecks\/2021\/nov\/30\/viral-image\/new-coronavirus-variant-named-letter-greek-alphabe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00a0pandemic is a hoax<\/a>, and that the variant was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/factchecks\/2021\/nov\/30\/facebook-posts\/no-omicron-variant-was-not-timed-distract-ghislain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">timed to distract<\/a>\u00a0from the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0Don\u2019t be fooled by the next \u2018Variant,\u2019 the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/2YFKK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Nov. 28 post says<\/a>. \u00ab\u00a0There are actually 1000\u2019s of them. They just will pick the next one to keep the fear going.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>The post was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/1952307158131536?helpref=related\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">flagged as part of Facebook\u2019s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed<\/a>.<br \/>The post includes an altered image that shows the face of the White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci on the body of Dr. Evil, the villain in the \u00ab\u00a0Austin Powers\u00a0\u00bb movie franchise, whom the post depicts as making an air-quotes gesture with his hands around the word \u00ab\u00a0variant.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0<br \/>The post also shows a screenshot of a<a href=\"https:\/\/nextstrain.org\/ncov\/gisaid\/global?fbclid=IwAR0U8dnI10Z9dXZDAQttWmlO74I02zdDU_pTRpvbDQU5lIGoLzN9O1JpK0E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00a0visualization\u00a0<\/a>from Nextstrain, an open-source bioinformatics project run by a team of researchers.<br \/>But in a statement to PolitiFact, Nextstrain said the post is an example of its charts being distorted by \u00ab\u00a0a few people who want to interpret them to further their misinformation claims.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>The post makes it sound like public health officials are sitting on a long list of fake variants and announcing new ones every time fears about the others subside. That\u2019s not the case.<br \/>There are thousands of COVID-19 variants in existence, as is to be expected with any virus that mutates. But that doesn\u2019t mean omicron and the other named variants that public health agencies have sounded alarms about are fake or planned. The variants that get elevated in this way are not selected at random or \u00ab\u00a0to keep the fear going,\u00a0\u00bb experts said.<br \/>Viruses, including the one that causes COVID-19, can evolve over time.<br \/>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/yYNv5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">variant of the coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0is one that differs from the original strain that emerged in Wuhan, China. The changes arise via random mutations, especially when circulating at high rates.<br \/>The<a href=\"https:\/\/nextstrain.org\/ncov\/gisaid\/global?fbclid=IwAR0U8dnI10Z9dXZDAQttWmlO74I02zdDU_pTRpvbDQU5lIGoLzN9O1JpK0E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00a0chart<\/a>\u00a0featured in the Facebook post \u00ab\u00a0plots the data we have on SARS-CoV-2 genetic code sequences over time,\u00a0\u00bb Nextstrain said in its statement. \u00ab\u00a0It&rsquo;s a little like a virus family tree.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>But while there are thousands of coronavirus variants, most fade out over time or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/3VPvp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">never become widespread<\/a>\u00a0strains, so they are not concerning in the context of the pandemic.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0New variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are detected every week,\u00a0\u00bb Johns Hopkins Medicine\u2019s Dr. Stuart Ray added in an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/wip\/4Yuv6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">article on the university\u2019s website<\/a>. \u00ab\u00a0Most come and go.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>Public health agencies like the<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/wip\/pFttf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00a0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/yYNv5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">World Health Organization<\/a>\u00a0monitor mutations and watch for changes that could make evolving strains more transmissible, dangerous, or resistant to testing, vaccines and treatments.\u00a0<br \/>Broadly speaking, the agencies designate variants as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/article\/2021\/nov\/29\/omicron-and-other-coronavirus-variants-what-you-ne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00ab\u00a0variants of concern\u00a0\u00bb<\/a>\u00a0when there is observed evidence that the variants behave this way. The agencies label variants as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/pFttf#anchor_1632158885160\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">\u00ab\u00a0variants of interest\u00a0\u00bb<\/a>\u00a0if they display genetic markers that could potentially send them down this path.<br \/>These are the variants scientists warn about \u2014 like the delta variant, which has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politifact.com\/article\/2021\/nov\/29\/omicron-and-other-coronavirus-variants-what-you-ne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">for months accounted<\/a>\u00a0for more than 99% of all coronavirus infections in the U.S. The WHO\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/yYNv5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-t-l=\":b|e|inline click|${u}\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">currently lists<\/a>\u00a0five variants of concern: alpha, beta, delta, gamma and omicron.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0The reason that we only hear about a few of the variants is because they are not all of equal importance,\u00a0\u00bb said Cindy Prins, a clinical associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida. The ones we hear about on the news \u00ab\u00a0are the ones that have the potential to have a greater effect on public health.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>Despite the Facebook post\u2019s claims, the variants are not rolled out at random or to \u00ab\u00a0keep the fear going.\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0<br \/>Instead, they are designated as variants of interest or concern according to public health agencies\u2019 working definitions and a process that is \u00ab\u00a0scientific, well thought-out, and designed to focus only on those that need to be prioritized,\u00a0\u00bb Prins said. Omicron is only the 13th variant to receive a Greek alphabet name under the WHO\u2019s classification system.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0They are very much not picked at random,\u00a0\u00bb Nextstrain said in its statement.<br \/>\u00ab\u00a0Scientists and public health agencies definitely do not just pick the next variant and try to scare people with that,\u00a0\u00bb Prins added. \u00ab\u00a0Even with omicron, scientists and public health agencies are urging the public not to panic because we still need to learn more.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>A Facebook post said, \u00ab\u00a0Don\u2019t be fooled by the next \u2018Variant\u2019! There are actually 1000\u2019s of them. They just will pick the next one to keep the fear going.\u00a0\u00bb<br \/>There are thousands of coronavirus variants, but they are not fake, or planned, or being systematically revealed to \u00ab\u00a0keep the fear going,\u00a0\u00bb as the post suggests.<br \/>The handful of variants that have been named variants of interest or concern were classified as such because they met criteria that gave public health agencies reason to raise alarms.<br \/>We rate this Facebook post Mostly False.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statesman.com\/story\/news\/politics\/politifact\/2021\/12\/03\/facebook-post-claims-new-variant-names-meant-stoke-fear\/8837513002\/\">source<\/a><\/p>\n<!--CusAds0-->\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Viral Facebook post:\u00a0\u00ab\u00a0Don\u2019t be fooled by the next \u2018Variant.&rsquo;\u00a0There are actually 1000\u2019s of them. They just will pick the next one to keep the fear going.\u00a0\u00bbPolitiFact&rsquo;s ruling: Partly FalseHere&rsquo;s why: Social media users are sharing a misleading post that claims public health agencies have thousands of fake COVID-19 variants lined up and are revealing them [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow1sXXCw:productID":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monblogeur.tech\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}