Summary: The media has been showing its worst sides lately; accuracy does not matter, falsehoods are being perpetuated because they attract/yield more clicks, and scaremongering is rampant (for agenda mostly)

"THE NEWS IS slow..."

What does that sentence even mean?

That typically means that not many announcements are made, primarily by corporations (in a world driven by them, just like pertinent governments), offering new information to analyse and digest. The flow of information is slowed down considerably; this leaves a vacuum for misinformation and it's sometimes startling to see what some people are willing to believe. The "Conspiracy Industry" wants people to tremble over stories that simply aren't true; heck, the US President does it all the time...

"One thing we've noticed is that sites like Watchtroll keep exploiting COVID-19 for patent maximalists' propaganda; it's rather gross or grotesque at times."It would be a lie to say that patent news is abundant; the very opposite is true and there was a rare SCOTUS nugget in yesterday's news. We'll add or include links related to it in our next Daily Links; that does not concern software patents; it's about the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and to a lesser degree about inter partes reviews (IPRs).

One thing we've noticed is that sites like Watchtroll keep exploiting COVID-19 for patent maximalists' propaganda; it's rather gross or grotesque at times. Similarly, management of the European Patent Office (EPO) exploits the pandemic to wage an attack on its staff and justify breaking the law, including key EPC sections. António Campinos is probably somewhere in Portugal right now (or maybe Munich), planning the next PR ploy in France or Monaco (still basing EPO events there, just like Battistelli). The announcement of that was made rather quietly during a pandemic from what we can gather. Averting another scandal or outcry? Better than midnight on a Sunday, right?

Richard Stallman wrote an inspiring little page this spring ("Don’t watch TV coverage of Covid-19!"), highlighting the role of media in creating panic and exploiting the pandemic.

"I personally think that the pandemic is a real crisis which should be taken seriously, not belittled. But at the same time allowing this sort of takeover of "the news" means that many big scandals slide or slip or crouch under the radar, facilitating greater abuses than ever before."Sadly, everywhere one turns (even technology sites) it's all COVID COVID COVID COVID COVID!

Don't become a victim of propaganda.

I personally think that the pandemic is a real crisis which should be taken seriously, not belittled. But at the same time allowing this sort of takeover of "the news" means that many big scandals slide or slip or crouch under the radar, facilitating greater abuses than ever before. The only thing worse than this is the dramatisation, exaggeration and fabrication of stories to help construct controversy (clickbait basically) -- a growing trend as people run out of patience, look for alternative stories (even outright cranky theories), and sometimes march the streets, sharing pathogens and thereby accomplishing the very opposite of what they hope for (making quarantines less effective and further delaying resumption of business).

We're increasingly seeing stories egging people on to 'rebel' for their 'liberty' and "reopen America" or whatever (nice euphemism for killing the old and vulnerable). Irresponsible journalism causes many deaths right now (more so than before). The many liars we see promoting more patents as the 'solution' to COVID-19 are like circus props; we don't want to name them here and it's unworthy of additional attention. Most but not all of them are in the litigation 'industry'...

"The signal-to-noise ratio went all wrong."With the absence of events to report on we've noticed more publications writing about publication itself; they have nothing to say, nothing to write, and British broadcasters start writing about lunatics, giving them more attention than ever before (let's just say the first name is "Dave"). We totally agree with what Stallman wrote some weeks ago and we think that the best approach right now is to "keep calm"™ and stay home. It may seem highly detrimental to one's civil liberties, but unless we get this plague under control (more or less) things will become even worse, including to civil liberties.

Speaking for myself, to keep informed and aware I read nothing but the raw data and statistics associated with that data. People's personal tragedies may make good "stories" (or sad stories), but they're not what matters the most at this time. The signal-to-noise ratio went all wrong. When searching for news about "open source" this past month people may find that nearly half (more than a quarter and likely over a third) of it is something about "COVID-19" and not code. True story, measurable (quantifiable) too. ⬆