Navigating Information and Race in the Era of COVID-19 Symposium

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10315/40135

Event Description

This symposium, held online on May 3-4, 2022, advances multidisciplinary, transcultural and transnational understandings of how disinformation affected Canada’s marginalized, minority, and Indigenous communities, when accurate and bias-free health and anti-racism messages on the Internet became more critical than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of featured papers, panel presentations, roundtable discussion, open forum and a focus group meeting to discuss the conclusions and recommendations for future direction. The participants include senior scholars, emerging academics, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as community and business leaders whose work leads them to focus on cross-cultural encounters, information movements across borders, processes of displacement and historical change. In addition to Toronto-based participants, presenters and audience can attend the symposium nationally and globally through virtual conferencing technology.

Symposium Organizers

Jack Leong, York University Libraries
Norda Bell, York University Libraries
Yemisi Dina, Osgoode Hall Law Library
Kalina Grewal, York University Libraries
Thumeka Mgwigwi, York University Libraries
Sharon Wang, Osgoode Hall Law Library

Symposium Sponsorship

This project was supported by:

SSHRC Connection Grants
York University Libraries
Osgoode Hall Law School
York Centre for Asian Research
Canadian Studies Program and Asian Institute at the University of Toronto
The Justin Poy Agency

Program Content

Opening Remarks

Joy Kirchner, Dean of York University Libraries

The Honourable Vivienne Poy, retired Senator of Canada

Keynote Address

Anti-Asian mis/disinformation on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic 

Presentation: Harris Ali, Department of Sociology, York University; Fuyuki Kurasawa, Department of Sociology, York University

Panel 1: Communicating Safety and Building Trust

Race, trust, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada

Presentation: Cary Wu, Department of Sociology, York University

Panel 2: How Language Discriminates

What is in a name: the COVID-19 virus naming variants and their impact on Chinese Canadian community

Paper: Jack Leong, York University Libraries, York University

A brief history of infectious disease, disability and racial conceptions of ‘healthy citizens’

Paper: Geoffrey Reaume, School of Health Policy & Management, York University

Panel 3: Quality of Information and Social Behaviour

Topic modelling of far-right Canadians’ twitter discourses around COVID-19

Extended Abstract: Ahmed Al-Rawi, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University

Mathematical modelling, quality of information and social behaviour

Presentation: Jane Heffernan, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, York University

Trust, expertise, and information sources during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: A national, longitudinal survey 

Abstract: Eric Kennedy, School of Administrative Studies, York University

Roundtable 1: Community Response

COVID and its effects on racialized communities

Chair:

Jack Leong, York University Libraries

Speakers:

Winnie Cheung, Co-Founder, Pacific Canada Heritage Centre - Museum of Migration Society
Amy Go, President, Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice
Kevin Huang, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Hua Foundation
Cheryl Prescod, Executive Director, Black Creek Community Health Centre
Teresa Woo-Paw, former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Gwendolyn Yip, University Ambassador, The University of British Columbia

Roundtable 2: Media Response

Is all “news” equal? A cross-cultural discussion of the dissemination and sharing of news in the era of COVID-19

Chair:

Justin Poy, Justin Poy Agency

Speakers:

Gavin Barrett, Multicultural Advertising Specialist
Hamlin Grange, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
Bill Hutchison, Journalism Professor at Seneca College of Applied Arts/former News Anchor at CTV News
Joseph Tsang (aka Bingham), Radio Host at Sing Tao A1 Chinese Radio
Tony Wong, Contributing Columnist at The Toronto Star

Panel 4: COVID-19, Disinformation and Marginalized Communities

Infodemic deportability: Risks confronting essential migrant agricultural workers from Latin America and the Caribbean during the COVID-19 pandemic

Presentation: Leah Vosko, Department of Politics, York University

Covid-19 and healthcare waste in the global south: The information gap

Paper: Jeffrey Squire, Department of Social Sciences, York University

Panel 5: COVID-19, Inequality and Marginalized Communities

How COVID-19 exacerbates educational inequities among racialized students

Abstract: Carl James, Faculty of Education, York University

International solidarity and the (Diminishing?) global vaccine divide

Abstract: Obiora Okafor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Panel 6: Use, Abuse, & Erasure of Information during COVID-19

Newcomers’ (dis)information practices: The role of trust in immigrant networks

Abstract: Nadia Caidi, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto

Panel 7: Lack of Access to Information: Unanticipated Consequences

Legal responses to domestic violence during COVID-19

Presentation: Yemisi Dina, Osgoode Hall Law Library, York University

Digital exclusion of racialized women at risk of Gender-Based Violence during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract: Nazilla Khanlou, School of Nursing, York University;Thumeka Mgwigwi, York University Libraries, York University

Closing Remarks

Supplementary Materials

Speaker Biographies

Symposium Program

Symposium Poster

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 20

Open Access
International solidarity and the (Diminishing?) global vaccine divide
(2022-05) Okafor, Obiora
The proposed presentation will deal with the question of international solidarity as a moral and legal right of peoples and individuals in international law and how it should fame or frames access to vaccines during this COVID-19 Pandemic.
Open Access
Speaker Biographies
(2022-05)
Open Access
Digital exclusion of racialized women at risk of Gender-Based Violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
(2022-05) Khanlou, Nazilla; Mgwigwi, Thumeka
Racialized women at risk of gender-based violence are a priority group to focus on for upstream mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection is a strategic tool to address the specific risks of women experiencing GBV. We will present findings from our knowledge synthesis project to analyze guiding principles for data collection.
Open Access
Newcomers’ (Dis)Information Practices: The Role of Trust in Immigrant Networks 
(2022-05) Caidi, Nadia
Nadia Caidi will share findings from ongoing research that examines the dynamics around engagement and effective use of information resources that cater to the ways of knowing of migrants and refugees to Canada.
Open Access
How COVID-19 Exacerbates Educational Inequities Among Racialized Students
(2022-05) James, Carl E.
Added to the educational issues with which Indigenous, Black and other racialized youth have to contend, is the impact of COVID-19 on their health, social, community and educational lives.
Open Access
Trust, Expertise, and Information Sources during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: A National, Longitudinal Survey
(2022-05) Kennedy, Eric B.
Throughout the pandemic, we have tracked national attitudes and perceptions of COVID through longitudinal surveying.
Open Access
Symposium Poster
(2022-05) Filipowich, Alicia
Open Access
Symposium Program
(2022-05) Bell, Norda; Grewal, Kalina
Open Access
Opening Remarks - The Honourable Vivienne Poy, retired Senator of Canada
(2022-05) Poy, Vivienne
Open Access
Race, trust, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Canada (alternate title: Racial Concentration and Dynamics of COVID-19 Vaccination
(2022-05) Wu, Cary
A large body of literature has suggested that vaccine hesitancy is higher among racialized populations. In this article, I consider racial disparities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the role of institutional trust. Analyzing data from a nationally representative survey studying the social impacts of COVID-19 across Canada, I find that compared to white Canadians, only Black Canadians show a significant higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and about 15% of the Black-white gap can be attributed to their lower institutional trust. My additional analysis further shows that low trust among Black Canadians explains fully their unwillingness to do what the government recommends about vaccines. Findings of this study suggest that efforts toward addressing systemic racism and promoting institutional trust are key to tackling the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among racialized communities.
Open Access
Infodemic Deportability: Risks Confronting Essential Migrant Agricultural Workers from Latin America and the Caribbean During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2022-05) Vosko, Leah
My remarks will focus on the treatment of seasonal migrant workers in agriculture in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will explore how dis/mis/information exacerbated the externalization of the costs of and risks confronting this group of workers perform essential work in the agri-food, with particular attention to those migrating from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Open Access
Disease Modelling: Incorporating Behaviour
(2022-05) Heffernan, Jane
Infectious diseases are subject to much media coverage. When an individual considers vaccination and/or social behaviour change, i.e., physical distancing, their decisions are based on information accessed through mass and social media. Ultimately, their decisions affect no not only themselves, but also the population at large. Mathematical models can be used to quantify the individual- and population-level effects of such decisions, including scales of information quality. They can also be used to optimize public health policy messaging so that misinformation effects can be minimized.
Open Access
Opening Remarks - Joy Kirchner, Dean of York University Libraries
(2022-05) Kirchner, Joy
Open Access
Risk Management, Communication and Healthcare Waste Management During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Addressing the Information Gap
(2022-05) Squire, Jeffrey
This paper posits that current Covid-19 safety protocols propagated by leading public health agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO), United States Centres for Disease Control (USCDC) as well as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) largely neglects the issue of healthcare waste. This creates an information gap which can have serious public health ramifications especially, for countries in the global south. To date, the Coronavirus has infected close to half a billion people worldwide, resulting in more than 6 million fatalities (WHO, 2022). A significant number of infections and fatalities have been recorded in the global south where in addition to providing care for infected patients, massive testing and vaccination programs aimed at curbing the spread of the virus have been rolled out. Such activities, contributes to generating massive volumes of healthcare waste including potentially infectious needles, syringes, masks, gloves, blood products and bodily fluids. The mismanagement of such waste in this era of Covid-19 is highly antithetical to curbing the spread of the virus. Abridging the information gap requires a robust risk communication strategy that prioritizes healthcare waste management as an essential nonpharmaceutical intervention in the fight against Covid-19.
Open Access
Symposium Abstracts
(2022-05)
Open Access
Communists, Double Agents, Bats, and Other Inanities of Allusive Racism: Anti-Asian Mis/disinformation on Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2022-05) Ali, Harris; Kurasawa, Fuyuki
Anti-Asian COVID-19 mis/disinformation on social media platforms is fostering to new forms of racist and xenophobic speech and action both online and offline (e.g. Sinophobic posts targeting Chinese communities and peoples of Chinese descent in North America, verbal and physical violence aimed at Asian-Canadians and Asian-Americans, etc.). Based on computational methods (topic modeling, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis) and qualitative analysis of content on three social media platforms (Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube) and relevant websites, we will present our findings regarding the forms of COVID-19-related racist and xenophobic misinformation and disinformation, the forms of anti-misinformation and -disinformation campaigns that North American-based Asian community organizations and activists are developing, and the implications that these findings have for public health and political responses.
Open Access
Legal Responses to Domestic Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2022-05) Dina, Yemisi
There has been a rise in the number of domestic violence incidents across the world. In Canada there was a spike in the number of calls to the police and helplines ranging from verbal abuse, threats to assaults on women. This presentation will review the legal responses to and legislation on domestic violence in selected jurisdictions like Canada, South Africa, United States, Kenya, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
Open Access
A Brief History of Infectious Disease, Disability and Racial Conceptions of ‘Healthy Citizens’
(2022-05) Reaume, Geoffrey
This presentation will provide an overview of how xenophobia and ableism has historically been a part of responses to outbreaks of infectious diseases in western society. From Christians scapegoating Jews and people with leprosy during medieval plagues to white people blaming east Asians during epidemics/pandemics in more recent times, this presentation will provide a brief summary of how racist and ableist concepts of “healthy citizens” has a long and dubious history in which the most privileged in society sought to cast out those with the least power based on conceptions of race, ethnicity, disability and class. There will also be reference to how some people have resisted these attacks and sought to re-orient the focus away from targeting marginalized populations.
Open Access
Topic modelling of Far-right Canadians’ tweets on COVID-19
(2022-05) Al-Rawi, Ahmed
In this study, I empirically explore the public discourses around the pandemic by far-fight Canadians. I collected 134,739 tweets in September and October 2021 just a few months before the Truckers’ protest in Ottawa. These tweets were posted by 14 Canadian far-right sympathizers or supporters, representing all the available tweets (Table 1). Then, I used a Python program to search for words like “*virus*”, “covid*”, “corona*”, and extracted 2,555 tweets. Next, I automatedly analyzed the tweets based on topic modelling, which is a machine learning method (Table 2).
Open Access
What Is in a Name: The Covid-19 Virus Naming Variants and Their Impact on Chinese Canadian Community
(2022-05) Leong, Jack
Chinese Canadians have settled in Canada since as early as in 1788 (Lai, Leong “Chinatown Series – Toronto”). The first large scale of Chinese immigrants came to Canada during the Fraser River Gold Rush in the 1850s, followed by waves of Chinese railroad workers in the end of the 19th century. Most Chinese Canadians have changed their sojourner mentality to calling Canada home from the 1960s, the latest documented by researchers (Leong; Poy). While most Chinese Canadians see themselves as Canadians, but are they seen as ones? The COVID-19 Pandemic has once again taken this notion into spotlight. From anti-Asian racism, naming of the virus, and contesting Chinese Canadians as simply Chinese, the pandemic highlights the subtle, unconscious, and systematic discrimination against Chinese Canadians. In this presentation, I’ll discuss various names used to refer to the COVID-19 virus, specifically the ones related to race and origins, and reveal the anti-Chinese racism associated with these terms. I argue these terminologies, most often claim to have derived out of convenience or common sense, denote deep rooted racist classification and information practices.

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