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MEMBERS ONLY Snopes Digest

17 March 2020 • Issue #6

1 Flatten the Curve Clear communication during the coronavirus crisis is key.

2 Behind the Snopes The Snopes staff shares tips for working from home.

3 In Case You Missed It The most popular and most important stories on Snopes.com lately.

4 Snopes-worthy Reads Good stories we’ve shared amongst ourselves recently.

Issue #6 edited by Brandon Echter and Bond Huberman.

1. Flatten the Curve

It’s amazing the difference a week makes.

One week ago, life was buzzing on as normal in many areas of the United States. Now, most professional sports and public events are canceled, and major American cities are grappling with a new way of life as a result of the coronavirus global pandemic. Much of the reaction, from pushing back opening day of baseball to closing bars and restaurants, is in service of an important health concept: “flattening the curve.” If you were keeping proper social distance and checking social media this past weekend, you may have seen some version of this image:

The chart from FlattenTheCurve.com made a clear case for why Americans should be practicing social distancing. If we avoid unnecessary trips and movement and generally avoid large groups, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 to minimize the impact on our swamped health care system.

In a time of crisis when rumors are flying, on platforms that are not known for their efforts to combat rampant misinformation, clear communication is very important. #FlattenTheCurve immediately gets the idea across. Image URL , link to https://twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1235867072782983169

That’s the goal of Snopes’ coronavirus coverage — we want to prioritize the rumors you’ve seen and the questions you have, and be as clear and helpful as possible when responding. For that, we need you. Send us your COVID-19 tips and questions. Read and share our fact checks. And if you’re on Twitter, keep an eye on this thread.

Read on for tips on working from home, our top coronavirus fact checks, and more.

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2. Behind The Snopes

Let’s talk about what’s going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This week, the Snopes staff, who all work remotely, share their best tips for working from home.

As the heavier reality of the COVID-19 pandemic sank in this month, remote work quickly became the norm for the people fortunate enough to have that option. But the Snopes team was already there: For years now, Snopes has been about 16 people working from home across eight different states and three time zones. Most of us have never worked in the same room. Yet we’re a productive, passionate, and fiercely supportive team. So we thought in these stressful times that readers might appreciate some personal advice on staying focused on your work or other projects, even if you’re alone at the kitchen table.

Doreen Marchionni, managing editor

Take at least one decent meal break — even if you’re not hungry. Feed the birds, take a walk (while maintaining safe social distance). Give your brain a break.

Try to set up a space just for work and leave it behind when you’re not working — close the door, shut it down, cover the work station in cloth, whatever, but keep it outta sight during non-work hours.

Liz Donaldson, editorial assistant Set ground rules for people in your space — when I'm working, I'm working. Stay out of my office!

Keep desk drawers well stocked with kitty treats. Ground rules don't apply to cats.

David Mikkelson, founder and CEO

Managers, be conscientious and flexible about work hours. Probably the major issue with remote work I’ve seen as a manager isn't ensuring that people are working, but that they're maintaining a healthy separation between their professional lives and their home lives. On the other hand, dedicated employees are more likely to put in more time and effort at a schedule they can choose, rather than one that is dictated to them.

Bond Huberman, assignments editor

Curate background noise. Instrumental music. Radio or TV news on low volume in the next room. This incredible white noise app. Something, anything beside the tapping of my keyboard helps remind me I’m not alone (and blurs out the utility truck or noisy neighbor that inevitably turns up when a deadline is near).

Hit a roadblock with your team? Get on the phone. Sometimes no high-tech tool can compare to a one-on-one conversation in which you can focus on just LISTENING to your teammate’s ideas or concerns.

Got kids stuck at home with you? Take a deep breath and embrace the TV babysitter. Sorry, not sorry — this mom’s gotta do what she’s gotta do. Lots of wonderful, educational programming is available on streaming apps, including PBS Kids. Ask your kiddos to relay what they learned at dinner (and do fully log off and give them your full attention then and at breaks). It’s better than you going all dragon voice when they’ve interrupted you for the tenth time in 10 minutes because they can’t find their marker cap. Dan MacGuill, writer

Keep regular hours. When you first start working remotely, you might think that you can easily shift and fragment your work rhythms and routines. If you’re accustomed to the 9-5 routine, though, more often than not your brain will start to go into Netflix mode at around 6pm — whether or not you've finished the work you needed to finish. Don’t fight it.

Be conscious of your body. When you commute to a workplace, you're getting more incidental physical exercise that you lose when working at home. Make a conscious effort to replace it. Going for a proper walk and saying hello to your neighbors (while practicing safe social distancing) will help you press "reset" on your workday — giving you energy and conviction about the second half of your shift. At the very least, research some good stretching routines, and seriously consider never working on a laptop while sitting on the couch.

Dan Evon, writer

Embrace the robe. One of the perks of working from home is that you get to dress in comfortable attire. Buy some good coffee. You can make great coffee at home.

Vinny Green, general manager

Show, don’t tell. We’re constantly developing new products and processes at Snopes, and a recent motto we’ve adopted is: “More demo, less memo.” With so many chat threads, emails, and texts, my teammates have to absorb a lot of writing in a day. Sometimes, instead of describing an idea and asking them to imagine it, I just build a prototype and let people see it and test it. The feedback you get is way more useful. Also: Learn how to grab and share SCREENSHOTS, and use them like they’re going out of style.

Other quick tips:

If your WiFi is wonky, consider investing in a signal booster. Embrace a chat app. We use Slack at Snopes, but there are plenty of tools out there that keep you connected with your coworkers . Take “mental health breaks.” Share that cute cat picture. Remember to laugh. Be patient with people as they adjust. We are all experiencing this unprecedented event. You may be the only person in your “office,” but you are never really alone.

Next time, you’ll hear from another member of the Snopes team about a unique aspect of working here that you might find interesting. Do you want us to cover something specific? Write to us here!

Rewards Update Hey members, we have some updates about your rewards.

First, for those of you who have ordered physical rewards, good news! Your items are at our distributor! Take a look: Physical reward items like tote bags, T-shirts, notebooks, and mugs are expected to ship this week. For those of you who ordered a physical reward, you will receive shipping confirmation once they do.

For those waiting on ad-free browsing and community spaces, sit tight! Our small team is working on building the member portal, which will go live in April. In fact, we’re hiring developers to help us finish this and other projects.

3. In Case You Missed It

The latest news and fact checks on Snopes.com. In the wake of a misleading poll showing that 38% of Americans said they wouldn’t buy Corona beer because they’re afraid of coronavirus, news outlets published headlines saying the company reported a sharp drop in sales. Is it true that Corona’s sales declined because of a negative association in consumers’ minds? Read our investigation here.

Amid widespread criticism of the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, the president and his supporters claimed that President Barack Obama’s handling of the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic in 2009 was far worse. Snopes looked into the allegation, specifically that Obama “waited until millions were infected and 1,000 had died before declaring a public health emergency,” and found it to be false.

A number of news outlets claimed that during a February campaign rally U.S. President Donald Trump called the coronavirus a “hoax.” In parsing his exact words, however, we found that while he did appear to downplay the severity of COVID-19 and used the word “hoax” when accusing Democrats of politicizing the outbreak, Trump did not, in fact, label the coronavirus itself a hoax.

What’s the number one thing you can do to protect yourself from catching COVID-19? Wash your hands. When people cough or sneeze, they send particles into the air that land on surfaces we might unknowingly touch — and most of us touch our faces hundreds of times a day. Learn more about this and other coronavirus prevention tips from a noted epidemiologist.

Medical information is only as good as its source, and unfortunately, a great deal of misinformation is circulating online. Sipping water will not protect you from coronavirus infection, nor is holding your breath a valid “self-check” for determining whether you’re infected. Don’t believe everything you read on social media!

Have a story tip? Send it here! Featured Coverage

For more Snopes fact checks related to the new coronavirus and COVID- 19, see our extensive coverage.

Read our Coronavirus Coverage

4. Snopes-worthy Reads

What Team Snopes is reading across the web.

Junk News as Science David Mikkelson at the Center for Inquiry

Fake Cures and Other Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories are Flooding WhatsApp, Leaving Governments and Users With a ‘Sense of Panic’ Harry Stevens, Washington Post

Journalism is an 'Attack Surface' for Those Who Spread Misinformation Tony Romm, Washington Post

Everyone Agrees: Facebook, Twitter Should Block Disinfo — But Probably Won’t Kate Cox, Ars Technica

The Dunning-Kruger Effect, or Why the Ignorant Think They’re Experts Alexandru Micu, ZMEScience

Have any recommended reads? Submit them here.

Help Us Fact-Check COVID-19 We’re looking for more sources and experts for the Snopes Expert Network. What are you an expert in? Are you someone who can help us out?

For more Snopes fact checks related to the new coronavirus and COVID- 19, see our extensive coverage.

Join the Expert Network

The Pets of Snopes It’s true: The Snopes “team” was once just two people and a cat. Twenty- five years later, we have more humans and more cats (and even some dogs) than at our once-humble beginnings. We want you to meet our furry, fact- finding friends because, well, who doesn’t love a cute animal picture? Meet Senior Writer Alex Kasprak’s investigative sidekick, Snoopy! He loves playing fetch, staring longingly at birds, and practicing safe social distance from everyone except Alex. His favorite quarantine food is tortilla chips.

Thanks for reading this edition of the Snopes Digest. We’ll be releasing them every two weeks, so please add this email address to your white list and keep an eye out on March 31 for the next issue.

You can read the previous issue here.

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