"On October 17, the Daily Mail published an article headlined, “Boston University CREATES a new Covid strain that has an 80% kill rate—echoing dangerous experiments feared to have started pandemic.” The newspaper had seen a preprint of a BU COVID study, sensationally misconstrued its findings, and dashed out a false and inaccurate story about the research without even trying to contact a BU researcher.
But the lack of veracity didn’t stop the misinformation spreading. Soon the story was picked up by Fox News and other outlets, lighting up social media. University staff began receiving unpleasant messages.
Before midnight of the same day, we published our rejoinder, countering the misinformation and providing the facts. Our story was then shared with media and the public by our PR team as part of a concerted effort to stop the dangerous spread of misinformation.
Within days, reputable outlets were joining the pushback against the Mail’s false story, using our article as their foundation for more nuanced, fact-based reporting. Our article was cited or quoted by Reuters, the Boston Globe, Popular Science, and many others around the world. By the end of the week, the New York Times, Nature, and others were dissecting the scandal, pulling apart the initial inaccurate report and asking more nuanced questions about virus research. In just two weeks, our story surpassed 100,000 views."
From the Judges
Article really highlights the harm and confusion that misinformation can cause during times of crises. We all must celebrate when facts and science win!
