Tag Archives: Facebook

Facebook deletes celebrity chef wannabe Pete Evans’s Instagram account over repeated coronavirus and vaccine misinformation

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ABC (the Australian one) reports celebrity chef wannabe Pete Evans (right, exactly as shown) has been permanently booted off Instagram for sharing misinformation about coronavirus and vaccines.

Pete Evans’s Facebook page was removed last year, but he continued posting misinformation on Instagram, which Facebook owns

Facebook last week expanded the list of false claims it will remove, adding more about coronavirus and the vaccines.

The company no longer tolerates false claims the virus is man-made, that the disease is safer than the vaccine, that vaccines are toxic, dangerous, or cause autism

Facebook confirmed it deleted Mr Evans’s account on the popular picture-sharing platform on Wednesday.

The account had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Celebrity chefs are just so full of bad food safety information (except for Alton Brown).

“We removed Pete Evans’s account for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines,” the company said in a statement.

“We don’t allow anyone to share misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or about COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.”

Mr Evans’s Facebook page was removed in December, but he continued to share misinformation through Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook.

Facebook had earlier removed several of the chef’s Instagram posts for violating its policies on misinformation.

Facebook’s COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation policies were updated last week, with the company vowing to crack down on false claims.

Mr Evans was a judge on My Kitchen Rules between 2010 and 2020.

He has repeatedly made posts opposing COVID-19 vaccines and masks, shared discredited coronavirus cures, and claimed in a podcast that the coronavirus is a hoax.

Mr Evans regularly used his Instagram account to cast doubt on official information about COVID-19, vaccines, and other parts of mainstream science.

His company was fined more than $25,000 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in April after he promoted a device called a “BioCharger” on a Facebook live stream, claiming it could be used in relation to coronavirus.

The TGA said the claim had “no apparent foundation”.

Mr Evans announced last week he would run for federal parliament, standing as a Senate candidate for a fringe party set up by former One Nation senator Rod Culleton.

Who knows, he may get some votes: On Saturday more that 1,000 clogged roads in downtown Brisbane to protest against the vaccine as the first inoculations were conducted in the federal capital of Canberra. Vaccines begin Monday in Brisbane.

As a risk communication dude, I am however concerned with the approach being taken by the Australian Capital Territory to win over anti-vaxxers. The Canberra Times reports the ACT government will launch a major public information campaign as part of efforts to counter anti-vaccination messages amid concern vaccination rates could be affected by misinformation. Flyers making false and misleading claims about vaccines have been distributed to households in Canberra in recent days, prompting renewed calls for people to stop undermining public health information.

On Saturday, about 150 people, including some affiliated with far-right groups, gathered near the Carillon on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin to protest mandatory vaccinations – despite no such initiative being proposed.

Ms Stephen-Smith said, “We aim to provide informative, trustworthy and up-to-date advice to the community so they understand the risks of COVID-19, our responsibilities in helping to reduce these risks and where to access healthcare services.

“As the vaccine program rolls out, we will be ramping up our public health information campaign. This will focus on educating Canberrans about the COVID-19 vaccine, where and when they can access it and how they can find factual and reliable information.”

It’s a leader’s duty to inform rather than educate. Further, the proposal reeks of a failed risk communication strategy: If I could only get that one person or group to change their minds, conflict will be removed. By focusing on vaccine opponents, leaders are not paying enough attention to vaccine proponents and the essence of good science. But I’ll let Jimmy Kimmel explain from 2015:

It’s raining iguanas in Florida cold snap: Meat being sold on Facebook

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Several postings popped up this week in areas like Miami, Doral and Homestead advertising the animals’ meat for sale.

Nicole Darrah of The Sun writes some of the animals were seen skinned and beheaded while others were seemingly frozen — indicating they were for sale long before a cold snap hit the Miami area.

One ad, as noted by the Miami Herald, was posted on Facebook’s Marketplace with “garrobo,” another word for lizard used in Latin American countries, being sold for $1.

Iguanas have been spotted all over Florida grounds, parking lots and pools after low temperatures in the 30s and 40s F hit the Sunshine State.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday warned locals about “iguanas falling from trees” — not something they typically forecast.

Low temperatures stun — they don’t necessarily kill — iguanas, which are an invasive species in Florida.

If the animals are hanging out in trees when they’re stunned, they lose their grip and fall to the ground below.

When temperatures warm up, most of the iguanas that were stunned are expected to wake up.
Because iguanas are cold-blooded, the cold weather causes their metabolism to slow down. The reptiles become lethargic as temperatures drop from the warm weather they’re used to.

Iguanas, or “chicken of the trees,” are considered an “economical source of protein” by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

 

I hate facebook

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I still can’t believe I get quoted on average once a day in the weirdest places.

Guess we did some neat work over the years.

The introduction of a new technology, such as a human enhancement technology, may induce apprehension and concern among the general public. Social media enable individuals to find information and share their insights and concerns regarding new technologies. This results in an abundance of viewpoints that guides the individual’s acceptance and decision-making. A relevant question for this special issue is to what extent attitudes toward human enhancement technologies are influenced by online cues that signal the views of other people without obvious relevant expertise, such as online comments (social proof). An online experiment focusing on the enhancement of human health and the functioning of the human body through the application of nanotechnology in food was conducted. The study investigated to what extent social proof impacted views on the application of nanotechnology in food.

The valence of comments on a fake Facebook image with four comments was manipulated (positive, negative, mixed). A representative sample of Dutch Internet users (n = 289) completed the study. Perceptions, feelings, behavior, and information need were measured. Results showed that comment valence had a significant effect on risk perception, benefit perception and attitude: the more positive the comments read by the participants, the lower risk perception, the higher benefit perception and the more positive the attitude toward nanodesigned food. Significant interaction effects of initial feelings of dread and comment valence were further found for risk perception and willingness to buy. In contrast, there were no significant interactions of initial feelings of optimism and comment valence. Implications for risk communication regarding human enhancement technologies are discussed.

Risk and benefit perceptions of human enhancement technologies: The effects of Facebook comments on the acceptance of nanodesigned food

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

Margot Kuttschreuter and Femke Hilverda

DOI: 10.1002/hbe2.177

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hbe2.177

Couple of good Brantford,Ontario (that’s in Canada) boys in The Band.

Facebook, stuff and Sorenne edition

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There’s been some changes in technical stuff at barfblog.com, and I don’t really understand what’s going on, I just write for free to delay the inevitable decay of my brain.

If you want to follow us on facebook, you need to sign up to the barfblog group, because that’s where the postings show up.

I don’t know if subscribers are receiving posts in a timely manner in their e-mail — I’m not, but I’m just a writer — but you can let Chapman know because he’s in charge.

But I’m still barfblog and barfblog is still me, so here is Sorenne, who scored the winning touch to take the final in their inter-school division this afternoon (they call everything grand finals here, and they’re not grand, they’re finals; no one calls the NHL Stanley Cup the grand finals), and a couple of recent pieces of art.

As I said when I started the other newspaper at the University of Guelph in 1988, you don’t like it, start your own paper and stop complaining.

California mother faces jail time after trying to sell homemade food on Facebook

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KTLA 5 reports that a Stockton woman faces an impending trial and potential jail time after she joined a social media community food group, and sold some of the meals she cooked, which county San Joaquin County officials say is against the law.

cevicheMariza Reulas was cited by San Joaquin County for selling an illegal substance, but it wasn’t a powder, a pill or a plant. It was her bowl of homemade ceviche, according to KTXL.

“It was just like unreal that they were saying you could face up to a year in jail,” said Reulas.

A few years ago Reulas joined a Facebook group called 209 Food Spot – a forum she says, where people from the Stockton area shared recipes, organized potlucks and occasionally sold what they cooked.

“Somebody would be like, ‘Oh I don’t have anything to trade you but I would love to buy a plate,’ like they’d be off of work,” Reulas said.

On December 3 of last year, someone contacted Reulas, asking for a plate of her Ceviche –- one of her signature dishes. That person was an undercover investigator from San Joaquin County, according to court documents, on a sting because the majority of 209 Food Spot members didn’t have permits to sell their food.

Reulas and a dozen others were cited for two misdemeanors for operating a food facility and engaging in business without a permit.

Reulas refused to plea down to three years of probation. Now the single mother of six is headed to trial and could end up in jail.

“I don’t write the laws, I enforce them. And the legislature has felt that this is a crime,” said San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Kelly McDaniel. She says selling any food not subject to health department inspection puts whoever eats it in real danger, not to mention it undercuts business owners who do get permits to make their food.

She says the 209 Food Spot Facebook group was sent a warning before charges were handed down.

Ceviche ain’t muffins and cookies. It’s raw fish alleged cleaned up with some acid from lemons and limes.

 

Human Milk 4 Human Babies: Australian mothers giving breast milk to strangers’ babies through Facebook

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Kathryn Powley of the Herald Sun writes that hundreds of Victorian women have donated breast milk so other mums never have to feed their babies artificial formula.

breast.milk.donateBut health officials are warning of potential risks of informal breast milk sharing.

Cranbourne mum Kim Pennell bought a special deep freezer and started stocking it with donated breast milk ahead of the birth four weeks ago of daughter Lucy.

Little Lucy is thriving on other mother’s milk sourced through a 1450-member Victorian Facebook group that is part of an international movement called “Human Milk 4 Human Babies”.

Ms Pennell, 33, said many donors offered blood tests to show they were healthy. But she operated on trust.

“You go to the mum’s house, meet her, have a coffee and a good chat. They meet your baby, you meet their baby. If something doesn’t feel right, there’s no obligation to take the milk.”

The mum of four — Hannah-Kate, Zoe, Holly and Lucy — said she had struggled to breastfeed and believed formula had led to Zoe’s cow’s milk protein intolerance and sleep problems. Ms Pennell was some people found breast milk “icky” but it the natural food to give babies.

“Even though these babies aren’t breastfed, they’re getting human milk,” she said.

About six women had donated Lucy’s 100 litres, including Ballarat’s Natalie McGrath, 37, mum to Jessica, 4, and six-month-old Thomas.

Mrs McGrath said she had too much milk for Thomas and, believing breast milk was best, had provided about eight litres to four women.

She knew of women who had donated an impressive 60 litres.

“It’s mums helping mums. It’s a very supportive community out there,” she said.

She was happy to provide blood tests showing she was free of transmittable diseases.

But Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Tim Vainoras said mums accessing informal human milk donations should be aware of potential health risks.

“The milk can be affected by a range of factors,” he said, “including lifestyle habits, such as drinking alcohol and smoking, personal hygiene, as well as correct storage and transportation.”

He said viruses and bacteria could be transmitted through unpasteurised breast milk and there was no guarantee that donated product was safe and suitable for consumption.

Mr Vainora said Mercy Health had a breast milk bank that provided pasteurised donor human milk for their hospitalised sick and premature babies.

Durham County health department looking at mobile vendors

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Some of my favorite people are environmental health specialists. Between routine, unscheduled inspections of restaurants and institutions, many spend time working with individuals and small businesses to ensure that they make and sell food safely – and legally. According to WUNC.org, Durham County (NC) environmental health folks are looking to mobile vendors to ensure that they are inspected and are following food safety rules.

The Durham County Department of Public Health wants consumers to know if food from mobile food vendors is coming from somebody who has a permit to sell it.

Environmental Health Director Christopher Salter said the department is also working to inform vendors of food safety regulations, which bar home food prep and selling from a stand without a permit.

Salter said there are 126 mobile food units acting legally in the county. They are heavily scrutinized for healthy food preparation and storage practices. Salter said these vendors not only pose a health risk, but they undercut the businesses of food vendors who follow the legal channels.

“I know that they’re just trying to make a living, they’re trying to get by,” Salter said. “But we have the rules and regulations and what’s right and wrong, and bottom line is we have to protect the public health.”

And it’s not just the mobile vendors, as I peruse my Facebook feed and the Wake Forest Community Information page, there’s food that folks are selling out of their homes. Like cupcakes and pesto.

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How to win friends and influence people? NZ burger chef loses it after foodborne illness accusation

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The social media storm began when a woman sent a private Facebook message to Ekim Burgers, saying that she loved the cafe’s food but her son had spent the night vomiting after eating there.

how.to.win.friends.influence.people“Firstly, this is not a complaint,” the woman began. “[The burger] is the only thing he ate differently from us that day so we assume it was the burger. Just wanted you to be aware. We thought the burgers were fantastic and know it was probably a one-off.”

And it probably wasn’t the burger (that would take 2-4 days, unless it was norovirus).

But the response from the chef is an instructive lesson in what not to do when chatting with customers.

On Wednesday, owner Mike Duffy posted a screengrab of the private message from the Wellington woman, saying “he wanted to get in first.”

When people complained he was breaching her privacy, he posted on Thursday the rant against his customers.

“Almost 20 years in this f—ing industry and never had a person who ate what I cook get sick from it,” he wrote on Ekim Burger’s Facebook page.

No evidence to prove that.

“Plenty of pissed up office jocks pulling the ‘i got food poisoning’ call after going home way to [sic] drunk from a staff Christmas party with someone who they shouldn’t have.

“Loads of middle class no idea house wives completely out of their league complaining that their wine glass should have more in it.

“Dozens of to [sic] drunk to drive but gonna anyway cos they can lawyer’s with no regard for the position they put you in as the license holder by driving home.

“100000s of eggs on Sunday mornings when no one, least of all the other staff wants to hear some little shit kid banging his or her fork on the wooden table only to be released from its chair to f— up the morning of other diners. So it’s dimwitted parents can talk about what shit the service is even though they’d never tip no matter how good it was.”

Unapologetic, Duffy said the rant was inspired by what he calls a creeping culture of rudeness and entitlement among hospitality patrons, who he said have a responsibility to behave well in restaurants, cafes and bars.

“It’s common courtesy and it’s not common anymore,” he explained.

New Zealand closes online fish market

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Bored suburbanites like to dabble in risk, and I never understood the term black market, other than it was offensive.

UnknownMinistry for Primary Industries (MPI) compliance officers today terminated an operation against four groups in Auckland who were selling seafood.

MPI compliance officers supported, by the NZ Police, executed search warrants on five South Auckland properties that were identified, from a Facebook page, selling seafood to the public.

MPI compliance officers are talking to ten people in relation to the operation. Investigations are continuing with a view to laying charges under the Fisheries Act.

MPI Compliance Director Dean Baigent says compliance officers learned that a Facebook page was being used for one-off sales of seafood in Auckland and that the page had more than 400 followers.

MPI has been monitoring these groups and has received numerous reports from the public of this illegal activity.

Facebook increasingly used to sell homemade food

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There’s a new form of entertainment in our house – reading random posts from a closed Facebook page, Wake Forest Community Information. Between crazy requests (‘Is there such a device in case the power goes out, that you can heat your home’ which garnered ‘fire’ an answer) and crowdsourcing medical information (‘Any dentists on here? What is this?’ with a picture of an abscess) are food safety related posts.

Weekly someone posts about getting sick at a local restaurant or getting some physical hazard in their food. And then there are I-make-food-at-home-and-want-to-sell-it posts.facebook-food-art

Facebook as a food sales vehicle is, according to friend of barfblog Linda Harris, not just a North Carolina phenomenon.

In October, KCRA 3 revealed how people were selling lumpia and cheesecakes from homes and street corners. There were even tamales being sold that had been cooked in a garage.

Three months later, there are more users than ever. The “916 Food Spot” group alone has doubled to more than 2,200 members.

They’ve added more entrees to their menus, including ham and cheese dishes.

“It’s like a fast-food restaurant and you go online,” said Linda Harris, at the UC Davis Food Safety Facility.

Harris said many of the offered items don’t fall under the state’s cottage food laws, which allow some nonperishable foods to be sold from home. 

Harris said selling foods on Facebook is a lot different than cooking for your husband and kids.

“When you’re cooking food in your home for your family, that’s one thing,” Harris told KCRA 3. “When you’re taking money in exchange for that food, I believe you have a much higher level of responsibility.”

KCRA 3 brought the Facebook food groups to the attention of the environmental health departments in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties.

San Joaquin County officials have asked their district attorney’s office to help them look into the cases — because they don’t have the staff to do it themselves.

Food inspectors said they still haven’t received a single complaint of a food-borne illness from someone who bought a dish through Facebook.

Baylen Linnekin is an activist who has been pushing to ensure people have freedom to eat the foods they want.

“They are not making a million dollars,” Linnekin said. “It’s not like they are suddenly becoming this baron of underground food in California. They are making a little bit here and a little bit there.”

But Harris said there are legitimate reasons the food safety laws were enacted in the first place.

“Almost every one of our food laws is a response to one or more outbreaks where there was public outcry — actual pushback on the regulators to say, ‘Why aren’t we doing more?'” Harris said.