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This Happened

This Happened — September 29: COVID-19 Death Toll Hits 1 Million

On this day in 2020, the worldwide death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic reached one million.

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What was the initial global response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

In the early stages of the pandemic, countries implemented various measures such as travel restrictions , quarantine protocols, and public health campaigns to raise awareness about the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. WHO facilitated information sharing, provided guidelines, and coordinated efforts to ensure equitable access to medical supplies and vaccines. Initiatives like COVAX were launched to ensure fair distribution of vaccines to lower-income countries.

Were there any challenges in the global response to COVID?

Challenges included: Vaccine Distribution Disparities: Access to vaccines was unequal, with wealthier countries obtaining more doses, leading to concerns about vaccine equity. Misinformation: The spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories complicated public health efforts. Economic Impact: Lockdowns and restrictions led to economic downturns, affecting livelihoods and economies worldwide.

How did the pandemic affect healthcare systems?

Healthcare systems faced unprecedented challenges, with surges in cases straining resources and hospital capacities. Telemedicine gained prominence as a way to provide care while minimizing in-person contact.

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Ideas

Look At This Crap! The "Enshittification" Theory Of Why The Internet Is Broken

The term was coined by journalist Cory Doctorow to explain the fatal drift of major Internet platforms: if they were ever useful and user-friendly, they will inevitably end up being odious.

A person holding their smartphone

Gilles Lambert/ ZUMA
Manuel Ligero

-Analysis-

The universe tends toward chaos. Ultimately, everything degenerates. These immutable laws are even more true of the Internet .

In the case of media platforms, everything you once thought was a good service will, sooner or later, disgust you. This trend has been given a name: enshittification . The term was coined by Canadian blogger and journalist Cory Doctorow to explain the inevitable drift of technological giants toward... well.

The explanation is in line with the most basic tenets of Marxism. All digital companies have investors (essentially the bourgeoisie, people who don't perform any work and take the lion's share of the profits), and these investors want to see the percentage of their gains grow year after year. This pushes companies to make decisions that affect the service they provide to their customers. Although they don't do it unwillingly, quite the opposite.

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Annoying customers is just another part of the business plan. Look at Netflix , for example. The streaming giant has long been riddling how to monetize shared Netflix accounts. Option 1: adding a premium option to its regular price. Next, it asked for verification through text messages. After that, it considered raising the total subscription price. It also mulled adding advertising to the mix, and so on. These endless maneuvers irritated its audience, even as the company has been unable to decide which way it wants to go. So, slowly but surely, we see it drifting toward enshittification.

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