Wednesday, April 29, 2020

“Fake news” can have multiple, tasty layers [Updated below]

Trump (public domain)
As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been reading and watching more news thanks to the shut-down, and I’ve come to appreciate Trump’s complaint that the media produces “fake news.”  A great example is Trump’s recent touting of Hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for the Chineese / Wuhan / Covid-19 Virus (“the Virus”).  After allegedly seeing one of the President’s press conferences, a guy in Arizona took cholorquine.   He died, and the media was all over it, giddily reporting that Trump was defying the medical experts, that he was dispensing medical advice, and that the man (an alleged Trump supporter) took Trump’s recommended drug and died.  One of my favorite headlines read as follows: “Arizona man dies after attempting to take Trump coronavirus cure.”  (You can find a montage of similar news headlines in this video clip.)  Now, this was obviously fake news from the get-go.  Here’s the top layer:

Friday, April 24, 2020

Trump-haters giddy over new Hydroxy study, except . . .

Trump (public domain photo)
With more time on my hands thanks to the lock-down, I recently subscribed to the Washington Post.  I won’t be renewing.  WaPo, like CNN and numerous other “news” outlets, is obsessed with a prescription drug called Hydroxychloroquine (“Hydroxy”).  Why?  Because Trump touted it as a possible treatment for the Chinese / Wuhan / Covid-19 Virus (“the Virus”).  It’s a drug that’s so old it’s available in generic form and therefore is cheap, has been used for malaria, is currently used for arthritis and other ailments, and was even used to treat SARS.  It also has few side effects, and can even be used by pregnant women.  Trump was very enthusiastic about the drug, but also somewhat guarded, describing it as “encouraging” and “exciting” and saying it “could be a game-changer but maybe not” and “we really hope” this is going to work as we move toward a vaccine.  Nor did Trump pull the drug out of thin air: doctors were already prescribing Hydroxy for the Virus in other countries and even in the U.S.  (Remember, this is a prescription drug; individuals can’t run out and buy it at the local pharmacy.)  And there was even a published French study showing its benefits.  

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Under the Gun: Plea Bargains and the Arbitrary Deadline, 93 Temple L. Rev. __ (2021)

Check out my new article, Under the Gun: Plea Bargains and the Arbitrary Deadline, 93 TEMPLE L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2021) on SSRN or my website.  You can read the abstract after the jump: