Is the Coronavirus Killing Exactly 57 People?

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"I feel like this is something that as consumers of media and information, we also have to gain its tolerance for," he says. "It's almost like sugar, what's going on, right? Because sugar just gives us that immediate hit and we like it, but then we all know we'd be better off if we just probably didn't have as much." He asks: How many in which human beings needed to know that within the first 24 hours? Did it actually consequently affect our lives?"

How can tech companies help flatten the curve? First and foremost, they must address the lethal misinformation and disinformation circulating on their platforms. The problem goes much deeper than fake news, according to Claire Wardle, co-founder and executive director of First Draft. She studies the gray zones of information warfare, where bad actors mix facts with falsehoods, news with gossip, and sincerity with satire. “Most of this stuff isn't fake and most of this stuff isn't news,” Claire argues. If these subtler forms of misinformation go unaddressed, tech companies may not only fail to flatten the curve — they could raise it higher.