Critical Releases in Homeland Security: June 17, 2020

From the Executive Summary: "Before the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic hit, democracies were already struggling to address disinformation, hate, extremism, and other dangerous online content while also protecting free speech and privacy. Now, Facebook, Twitter, and Google's YouTube are awash with disinformation and misinformation that can be deadly. Despite the companies' commitment to take unprecedented steps to control the problem, they are failing. This report argues that Facebook, Twitter, and Google's targeted advertising business models, and the opaque algorithmic systems that support them, are the root cause of their failure to staunch the flow of misinformation."

From the Summary: "Since the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] outbreak was first diagnosed, it has spread to over 190 countries and all U.S. states. The pandemic is having a noticeable impact on global economic growth. Estimates so far indicate the virus could trim global economic growth by as much as 2.0% per month if current conditions persist and raise the risks of a global economic recession similar in magnitude to that experienced during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Global trade could also fall by 13% to 32%, depending on the depth and extent of the global economic downturn. The full impact will not be known until the effects of the pandemic peak. This report provides an overview of the global economic costs to date and the response by governments and international institutions to address these effects."

From the Conclusion: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic presents a unique opportunity. While many countries are tightening immigration restrictions, the US government could instead lower barriers to entry, which would attract talent and capitalize on the significant economic benefits of immigration as America recovers from the crisis."

From the Article: "As the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold, it's clear that having better information sooner, and acting more quickly on what was known, could have slowed the spread of the outbreak and saved more people's lives. There may be finger-pointing about who should have done better - and President Donald Trump has already begun laying blame. But as a former naval intelligence officer who teaches and studies the U.S. intelligence community, I believe it's useful to look at the whole process of how information about diseases gets collected and processed, by the U.S. government but also by many other organizations around the world."