Monthly Archives: April 2020

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says her company is stepping up to help small and medium businesses hit by the coronavirus.

We're in the business of small business. The majority of our customers are small businesses, so we're very close to them, Sandberg told me in a Skype interview from her home Tuesday evening.

Sandberg spoke about Facebooks recently announced program to provide $100 million in grants to small and medium businesses (SMB) and additional ways the social media giant is looking to help.

We're not only providing this grant funding, but we're providing a lot of free tools, online training, she said. A lot of businesses have to close, but some businesses are trying to stay open and or are shifting business online. So you can set up a free web slash mobile page by using a Facebook page.

We're training people in how to use our tools and others so that they can migrate their businesses online, and try to keep the lights on, keep businesses up and running through this period, Sandberg added. So that was an obvious touch point for us.

Facebook has seen a spike in traffic on its platforms Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger as people who are homebound because of the coronavirus increasingly go online to stay connected and to work.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talks about helping small businesses and news organizations

Sandberg also spoke to Facebooks commitment to aid news organizations and the media business which are under pressure right now. Even though traffic at news websites is spiking, marketers are wary of putting ads up against coronavirus content.

We have deep relationships with news agencies. We've announced a $300 million commitment before to help news organizations, Sandberg said. It's part of [our] regular responsibility. We've been long focused on local news because we know what the challenge is news organizations are facing. A lot of the hardest hit ones are the local news organizations. So that's been a big focus for us before this, and a special focus for us during this time.

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Andy Serwer is editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter:@serwer.

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Sheryl Sandberg on how Facebook is helping small and medium businesses - Yahoo Money

A North Jersey borough has suspended curbside recycling pickup, citing the risk coronavirus poses to the department of public works.

Residents in Glen Rock will now have to bring their recycling directly to the towns recycling center after pick-up was suspended last week.

There is significant concern for our employees who come into contact with unsecure items at your curb. We have seen towns with entire departments out sick - we do not want this to happen in Glen Rock, Mayor Kristine Morieko said in an alert to residents sent out on March 25. Bulk pick-up has also been canceled in the borough.

Its not clear which towns Morieko was referring to in her alert. Morieko did not respond to NJ Advance Medias request for comment, and borough administrator Lenora Benjamin did not have them available.

Some residents have expressed concerns that driving to the center provides less social distancing than curbside pickup, but Benjamin says the borough has taken steps to rectify distancing issues.

We wave heard those concerns, and they have been addressed by encouraging residents to be patient and wait their turn, Benjamin said, calling on residents to be considerate of the changes.

Every other parking spot at the center has been blocked off to provide more space between residents, Benjamin said.

Residents with hardships, including those with disabilities, can still have their recycling picked-up, she said.

New Jersey State League of Municipalities executive director Michael Darcy said he was unaware of any towns that saw their entire DPW unable to work because of the coronavirus, but that it could be difficult to social distance while trash collecting.

An entire towns department being out of work would leave the town vulnerable to emergencies, such as large potholes or fallen trees, Darcy said.

Its a challenge, its no doubt about it, Darcy said, adding that some towns were adjusting their crews to limit close contact.

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Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Drive your recycling to us. Were not picking it up, N.J. town says citing coronavirus. - NJ.com

Just briefly

Rolling with it: Toilet paper isnt just a flushable commodity anymore. In the age of panic buying, its become a symbol of security. Amsterdam-based creatives Guillaume Roukhomovsky and Bla Verhnjak have created the Give-a-Sheet campaign, which has tapped artists to create drawings atop a square of toilet paper, writes Ad Ages Ann-Christine Diaz. The pair have been auctioning off the works on the campaign site, with all proceeds going to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response fund for the World Health Organization. So far, theyve raised $850, and theres more art available.

Game, set, match: The Wimbledon tennis championships have been canceled for the first time since World War II. The French Open has already been delayed to late September, from May, but the U.S. Open is still scheduled for late August at Flushing Meadows in New York City, which is currently being converted into a temporary medical facility during the citys battle with coronavirus.

Stream a little stream of me: YouTube wants in on the short video action and is planning a rival to TikTok called Shorts. The Google-owned platform will make its catalog of licensed music available as backing tracks for user videos. With millions of people stuck inside, streaming platforms are reaching huge audiences. Amazon-owned Twitch topped 3 billion hours watched for the first time in Q1 and set record highs for hours watched and concurrent viewers.

That does it for todays Wake-Up Call, thanks for reading and we hope you are all staying safe and well. For more industry news and insight, follow us on Twitter: @adage.

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Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My fianc and I are social distancing with my parents, who are healthy but over 60. Were in a relatively unaffected state in a large rural county with fewer than 35 cases so far. (Normally we live in a major city, which is hugely affected right now.) Heres the problem: My parents insist on going out and running errands virtually every single day, including going to the grocery store or getting takeout to support local restaurants. Its not a massively high-risk situationthey spend most of the time in the carbut Id prefer if they didnt do it. I tried to raise the issue, to no avail, and have decided to make my peace with it, especially as we are staying at their house.

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Heres the rub: My fianc is very angry about it. He thinks theyre putting themselves and us at risk and wants to sit down and make them change their behavior. I know there is no way they will stop doing it (my mother is a formidable character with an iron will) and have encouraged him to prioritize his mental health, given that other peoples actions are regrettably outside of our control. He feels unsupported. Im not sure what to do.

Make It Stop

Dear MIS,

Your fianc is correct. The coronavirus is killing people who do not meet the threshold for high-risk that was largely touted in early reports about the burgeoning pandemic, and I would wager that those who have survived but found themselves reliant upon a ventilator to breathe would have vastly preferred a few more boring days in the house to days or weeks in an intensive care unit.

I think scaring people is a necessity right now. Find and share stories about otherwise healthy people their age who have either died or become gravely ill with COVID-19. Keep the news on constantly. Create ways to eliminate the need (real or imagined) for some of these errands and work on agreeing to a more reasonable schedule for leaving the house; say, one grocery trip and one takeout meal per week at most. Stay on top of them about proper hand-washing, sanitizing things that they bring in from outdoors, and other ways to mitigate possible infection as much as possible.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My son is a senior in high school and naturally is disappointed about all the things he is missing out on due to the coronavirus: school, friends, prom, and probably his commencement ceremony. But the worst part for him is being separated from his girlfriend. They talk several times each day and play video games online together, but after just a week of being physically away from each other, he is already saying we cant keep them apart and that we better let them be together. His mother and I reassured him that as soon as things are back to normal, they can spend all their free time with each other, but he is almost past listening to us. His girlfriend is lovely, but her parents work with the public and are unable to quarantine, as they are essential employees. They also dont mind if the kids see each other, which makes this harder. We are worried he is going to sneak (or perhaps storm) out to see her. I know a monthor moreis an eternity to a teenager, and I feel terrible enforcing this. I guess I am looking for reassurance that we are doing the right thing and seeing what you would do in the same situation?

Romeo Must Quarantine

Dear RMQ,

You and your partner are absolutely doing the right thing, and your son is having a totally normal teenage reaction to the events that have totally upended his life. It sucks that his girlfriends parents arent taking the need to maintain distance seriously, but its important that you continue to be unrelentinga funeral would be a far more horrifying end to a high school career than a canceled prom, and you have to be firm in asserting that.

Perhaps the respective parents (or one parent, from your household) can take these two lovebirds to a local park where they can see each other from a safe distance and have a sad but beautiful date from a healthy 6 feet away. However, you can only pull something like this off if you can trust that they wont throw caution to the wind and dash into each others arms. Scare them with stories of COVID-19 deaths, particularly those of young people and those who had no known reason to consider themselves high-risk. Remind them constantly that much of the info we received early on about young, healthy people being largely safe from the virus was inaccurate and that though they may have the capacity to survive infection themselves, they still pose a serious risk to others as carriers. Dont let them look away from the news long enough to lose sight of that. Sending you strength, for it wont be easy to continue putting your foot down here, but it is absolutely necessary.

If you missed Tuesdays Care and Feeding column, read it here.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

I am the daughter of Grandma Needs Peace who wrote to you a few weeks ago. I can assure you that my mother is very kind, but we are not relying on her tiny Social Security income to live; she uses that for her personal expenses, and I cover the major household bills. If it was not for me living here, in her house, then she would be homeless. Furthermore, my father passed away four years ago, and she has often told me that she is happy that my son and I are still here as shes never had to be alone after his death.

You make it sound like I bullied her into my husband and stepson moving in. She and I had many discussions about what was expected and what life was going to be like when they arrived. If she had said no, they simply would have had to find other arrangements. I do not insist that my son gets a pass on his bad behavior; he is called out on it. She holds him to a higher standard than my stepson, which I believe is backward. My stepson is 23; he should be more responsible as he is supposed to be a role model. He was supposed to leave for the Army within six months of his moving in, and we are now going on four years. I have asked her to speak to the stepson on many occasions because he is rude and obnoxious to his father and me. This is still my mothers house; he listens to her, though he does not listen to me. If I could, I would have thrown him out years ago, but she does not want that. He came here with his father because his brother had committed suicide six months prior and he was unable to cope on his own.

As for my husband, he does perform important household duties, such as maintaining the large lawn, taking out the trash, transporting my son to and from school, etc. When he makes sales, at least 75 percent of his earnings go to the house fund. I can also guarantee you that my mother holds me responsible for my choices. She has helped me raise my son and helped me escape from my abusive ex (his father) but has never done anything for me. My father was the only paternal figure in his life for years, and when he passed, my mother took on a more significant role in terms of caring for him because shes retired and I work full time. My mother has great courage and a great heart. She and I know that we are living together until either A) my 98-year-old grandmother passes away (she and I take care of her), or B) my son graduates from school and moves, at which time I am not obligated to stay in a particular county because of his school. We are aware that we will be going our separate ways.

Daughter of GNP

Dear DoGNP,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out; you certainly provided a lot of context that wasnt clear from your mothers letter (which is, of course, the nature of advice columnswe can only respond to the info we are provided with and/or can logically assume).

That said, though you didnt ask for any advice, I do have a couple of brief things Id like to add to what I shared with your mom.

1) Your mom likely holds your son to a higher standard because hes her grandbaby; she has a different level of investment in his life, which she has been there to support since he was born. She also may be guided in part by her empathy for your stepson in light of his brothers death. Hes a grown man, and theres still something inherently wrong about his refusal to listen to you and his father while relying upon yall for three hots and a cot; however, since you all seem to have accepted that he best receives correction from your mother, you should continue talking to her about the importance of him stepping up and how she can encourage that.

2) Its now clearer that you are providing support for your mother that she relies upon, financially, emotionally, and otherwise. However, its not fair to say she has done nothing for you. A whole lot of mothers out there would gladly cast aside their own loneliness and lack in order to push their children toward self-sufficiency, and I hope that you recognize how fortunate you are to have a mom who has a house to shelter you in at all, even if that house requires your labor to run.

3)Despite what she may have left out, your mom wrote to us for a reason. She is feeling something that you should continue to consider, and you must work with her to create a version of this blended family that brings her the peace she both longs for and deserves.

Best of luck to you all, and again, thank you for taking the time to respond and thank you for taking the time to grapple with how your mom is feeling about everything.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My ex and I are great friends and even better co-parents to our two boys. He is engaged to be married to a wonderful woman who loves our children immensely. The only problem: She lives out of town in a county that has recently confirmed cases of COVID-19. He plans on leaving town to be with her and getting the kids back when he returns. How on earth do I explain that this is not in the best interest of our family and community? (We currently have no cases in our town or county.) Hes very laid-back, and his general invincible attitude is troubling in this specific regard. We typically communicate well. I understand his desire to be with his partner. She has children that also split time with their parents. The exposure is far-reaching. Id rather just keep the boys for the duration of this stay-at-home order if he is going to insist on traveling during this time. My gentle suggestion was not well received.

COVID Co-parenting Crisis

Dear CCC,

You and the other readers have likely noticed not merely the number of letters Ive answered that are related to the coronavirus, but also that the majority of them involve parties who are unwilling to practice proper social distancing. That is because I have decided that if there is one little thing that I can do to support the efforts of medical professionals, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and other heroes who are doing their best to keep us healthy and safe right now, it is beating the STAY YOUR ASS IN THE HOUSE drum as loudly as I possibly can, to whomever may listen.

As your sister in shared custody, I know exactly how difficult it can be to adjust lifestyles to accommodate the urgent need to expose ourselves and our children to as few human beings as possible. However, it is imperative that you risk having what likely would be the rare terse disagreement between yourself and your ex in order to reduce your childrens risk of contracting this terrible virus.

It sounds like you, he, and this wonderful fiance have a pretty good thing going. Remind him that keeping him away from his children is not your usual M.O. and that you would only do so under such dire circumstances. Arm yourself with statistics, tragic stories, and data, and make a polite, loving case for keeping the kids with you until he has returned and self-quarantined for the recommended amount of time before seeing them again. Assure him that FaceTime/Zoom/Skype and/or old-fashioned phone calls will be frequent and that he will have an abundance of virtual time with his children. Let him know that your concern is not merely for the health of your household, but for him, his fiance, and her brood too. We have a responsibility to care for one another in some largely unprecedented ways right now, and I reckon I can speak for families who will have to wait quite some time to bury loved ones who are lost to this pandemic when I say that social distancingeven from moms and dadsis a small price to pay in order to make that care count.

Jamilah

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My wife of 43 years died an excruciating death from lung cancer in April. We were childless, which I thought was a sorrow to both of us, but I was wrong. We are simple people who never consulted a doctor or fertility clinic about the problem. Two days before she died, my wife said God was punishing her, not for her lifetime smoking habit, as I expected, but because she had taken birth control pills for 20 years without my knowledge. Worse, she had had two abortions without telling me! Of course this completely blew me out of the water. I told her I forgave her, but thats not really true. Im still stunned beyond belief, mourning the children we never had who could have been such a joy and comfort. I think this will haunt me until the end of my days and I feel helpless to counteract it. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

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My Over-60 Parents Refuse to Stay Home, Despite the Pandemic - Slate

Facebook says it's directing users across its platforms to more reliable information from established public health organizations in order to prevent the spread of false content. Facebook hide caption

Facebook says it's directing users across its platforms to more reliable information from established public health organizations in order to prevent the spread of false content.

As a global pandemic takes hold, more people are turning to Facebook in search of news about the coronavirus.

But the traffic load on the social media platform is also testing its ability to crack down on a spike in virus-related misinformation. Users are being confronted with phony cures and conspiracy theories around the virus' origin. (Note: Facebook is a financial supporter of NPR.)

Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, says he can't quantify the volume of misinformation around the virus, but that the company will remove coronavirus-related information that has the potential to cause physical harm.

"We do not allow misinformation to circulate on Facebook which can lead to real-world harm," Clegg said in an interview with All Things Considered on Wednesday. "So if people say drinking bleach is going to help you vaccinate yourself against coronavirus that is dangerous. We will not allow that to happen. We won't even allow folk to say social distancing makes no difference in dealing with this pandemic."

On Wednesday the company outlined the efforts it's taking to prevent the spread of inaccurate content during the public health crisis.

Through pop-ups and a new COVID-19 information center on Facebook, the company says it's directed more than 1 billion people on Facebook and Instagram to resources from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and regional health authorities, and that over 100 million users have clicked on the content.

The company's moves to curb pandemic-related misinformation on the site are aggressive in comparison to its hands-off approach in the moderation of political messaging.

Particularly in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and now during the 2020 race, critics and lawmakers have slammed the company for not doing enough to combat the circulation of false claims from politicians via ads and other messaging.

"What politicians say on the campaign trail about each other is not what a medic or an epidemiologist says about a pandemic," he says. "They're completely different forms of information. One is underpinned by science and established expertise, which no one questions," adding that it's easier for the company to act under the "strict expertise and guidance" from institutions like WHO and CDC.

"The other is a highly contested form of speech. That is the whole point about political speech in a democracy."

But, he says, Facebook does have limits when it comes to political content.

"You cannot use your freedom as a politician in the United States, for instance, to say things which will lead to real-world harm," Clegg says.

There's still room for gray area, and it's unclear whether these criteria apply to high-level officials, including the president himself.

In a still-live post from the White House's page on Facebook, President Trump gave a press briefing in which he embraced chloroquine as a promising treatment in the fight against the coronavirus. However, an Arizona man died and his wife was hospitalized after consuming a form of the chemical.

Last week, according to a Facebook internal report obtained by The New York Times, more than half of the stories being read on the platform in the U.S. were coronavirus-related. The company also recently reported a 50% increase in "total messaging" over the last month in several of the countries most impacted by the virus.

At the same time, the company's increased reliance on artificial intelligence for content moderation could further compromise its ability to effectively police content. Facebook has acknowledged that human content moderators are the best line of defense.

But those contracted employees, who weed through hours of sensitive and often disturbing content and can suffer serious mental health side effects as a result were placed on paid leave last week after Facebook failed to come up with an option for them to continue their work remotely.

Clegg added that a number of full-time employees will be trained to review some of the more harmful content, including: child safety, terrorism, suicide and self-injury.

But, he said, users should expect more mistakes as Facebook makes these adjustments amid the increased flow of content.

"It is perfectly possible there will be occasional mistakes and gaps or a slightly slower response than would've been the case in normal times," Clegg said. "These are not normal times."

In a press call on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said those mistakes will inevitably include content that shouldn't be taken down.

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Facebook Steps Up Efforts To Combat The Spread Of Coronavirus Misinformation - NPR

Actress and comedian Ali Wentworth, the wife of ABC News chief anchor George StephanopoulosGeorge Robert StephanopoulosSanders focuses on Biden's record, predicts Michigan victory as primary becomes two-man race Carson declines to 'preview' plan for virus-stricken ship's docking: 'We shouldn't have 16 people saying what the plan is' Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson endorses Sanders MORE, has tested positive for the coronavirus, she announced on her Instagram account.

"I have tested positive for the coronavirus. Ive never been sicker. High fever. Horrific body aches. Heavy chest. Im quarantined from my family," Wentworth wrote in a post to her 185,000 followers.

"This is pure misery," she added with the hashtag "stayhome."

Wentworth, who is also an author and producer, joined her husband's program, "Good Morning America" to describe her situation while under quarantine in her home on Wednesday.

"First of all, thank you for all your well-wishes," Wentworth began before joking, "You know I'm feverish if I'm allowing myself to go on national television with no makeup on."

"What started was I had a real tightness in my chest," the 55-year-old continued. "I was walking my dog, Cooper, and I just felt very, very winded and I assumed, of course, it was because I never work out and I'm out of shape, but it was it was too heavy for that."

Stephanopoulos and Wentworth live in New York City and have two teenage daughters.

New York City has become the epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S..

More than 1,300 people have died in the city as a result of the virus, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.

The overall U.S. death toll has surpassed 5,000, according to the school.

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Actress Ali Wentworth, wife of ABC's George Stephanopoulos, tests positive for coronavirus: 'Pure misery' | TheHill - The Hill

By Miranda Chant April 2, 2020 1:44pm

London police believe there could be more victims of a man charged with human trafficking a teen girl he met online.

The 49-year-old man was arrested Tuesday following a police investigation into allegations a teen girl was human trafficked over a three month period beginning in January.

It is believed the man first began communicating with the teen through Facebook at the start of the year and investigators are concerned there may be additional girls who were approached by the same man. They are asking anyone with information about the case to call them at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

David Clarke, 49, of London is charged with trafficking a person under 18-years-old, financial benefit of trafficking a person under 18, material benefit from sexual services provided by a person under 18, and procuring a person under 18.

Two counts of possession of a Schedule I substance was also laid against Clarke after police found drugs during his arrest.

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Man accused of trafficking teen he met through Facebook - BlackburnNews.com