Social media algorithms don’t like scientific arguments. So, could fake news about Shakira help make Chagas visible?
The news spread like wildfire on social media: Shakira’s entourage had supposedly issued a statement confirming that the Colombian artist had tested positive for Chagas disease. Although the information turned out to be false, he succeeded put one of the most neglected diseases on the planet at the center of the conversation.
How did the rumor arise?
It all started with the statement that Shakira had undergone a chagas test during a voluntary blood donation at a Red Cross mobile center in the United States. These centers often include testing for diseases such as Chagas as part of their protocols.
According to rumors, the singer could have contracted the disease during her last tour of Latin America, an endemic region of the insect vector (called vinchuca, chinche or pito, depending on the country). Although this insect is traditionally associated with rural areas, climate change and population movements have expanded its habitat, bringing it even to large cities.
‘What the fuck…?’ and other reactions like that
the first reactions of his fans and followers were immediate. Most with a tone of concern, along with others with big question marks:
“Shakira has what??”
“What the hell… is it Chagas?
And so, tens of thousands of comments in that style that came mainly from Latin America. And here is what amazing. Such comments might be expected in other parts of the world, but not in the endemic region where Chagas is the leading parasitic disease, with more than 70 million people at risk and thousands of deaths each year. And it is also surprising that the questions came from the United States or Spain, where a good part of the population with Chagas of Latin American origin is concentrated. Although, not really. It is not so surprising if we take into account that the World Health Organization includes Chagas in its list of the most forgotten diseases.
Others comments They tried to console Shakira, give her “cheer up, good vibes, strength, hearts, clenched fists, we’re with you” along with hug emoticons, etc. But, again, the questions along with disconcerting answers overflowed the networks. These are some extracted from X:
“Is that cancer? MY GOD»
“It’s something that makes you get pimples or your eyes swell. “My grandmother had it and died of changas”
“Is it a Chinese virus?”
“I don’t believe it. “That is a disease of poor people who live in the countryside.”
Those who did know what it was about
However, in many other places in Latin America, some people and communities immediately knew what it was about. In the Brazilian Amazon, in the Bolivian and Paraguayan Chaco, in extensive areas of Argentina, or in regions such as Arauca or Boyacá, in Colombia; in Matagalpa, Nicaragua; in Chiquimula, Guatemala, or in Oaxaca in Mexico, and even in Florida or Texas in the United States, they knew what it was about. But unfortunately, at algorithms They do not like those who know, suffer from or are investigating Chagas as much as they like hoaxes and spontaneous and immediate reactions. It is something that has not improved, quite the opposite, after the experience of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Chagas, far from being a public health priority in Latin America and other countries outside the region, is a great unknown among the civilian population and even among many front-line health professionals, if we compare it with dengue, Zika or malaria, among others.
The insect (of the triatomine species) continues to be the main vehicle of transmission of the parasite. Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi). It bites humans and animals, and deposits its infected feces through the sting. But also the congenital routefrom mother to child, or Ingestion of infected liquids and foods. (which can be fatal) cause this disease to spread, among other ways. It is estimated that more than 30% of people with the infection develop serious cardiac complications (many of them require heart transplant intervention), and more than 10% suffer digestive or neurological diseases.
Real good news
The good thing is that there is treatment. There are two drugs (nifurtimox and benznidazole) that are equally effective, especially in the early stages of the disease and in children and newborns, as well as in adults. In fact, evidence suggests that if women of childbearing age are treated, possible transmission is prevented. In addition, new diagnostic tools are being investigated, which allow for faster and more effective detection, especially in congenital cases, as well as shorter and more effective treatments, and even a possible vaccine, with the aim of facilitating access to these solutions for populations at risk, with promising results.
The problem is that…: “There is no money, damn it!”
There is nothing. That’s the problem. Or yes there is, but almost no one thinks about investing in the fight against Chagas. It does not seem that they are going to put it to Milei or other political decisions, nor the large financiers of global health. And only 1% of people who need it receive the treatment, according to some estimates. And the treatment is donated or purchased at very expensive prices, and there is a wide variety of diagnostic methods. But more than a century after it was discovered in Brazil by Dr. Carlos Chagas, very few people seem to care.
So why the oblivion? Eyes that do not see…
It has to do with forgetting, of course. But also with the characteristics of the disease: asymptomatic in most cases. That is to say, invisible and silent. People who suffer from it must be found before it is too late. But, if they are not looked for, it is as if they do not exist, and therefore they will disappear.
A? fake news for a good cause?
In case there was any doubt, the fake news about Shakira’s Chagas is also a fake news. The idea came to me from a Chagas researcher during a break from a work meeting: «If a famous person said they had Chagas, even if it were a lie, it could cause thousands of people to become informed and seek a diagnosis,» he commented. And then he gave as an example what happened after the public announcement of Angelina Jolie on her cancer. “The next day, thousands of women overwhelmed laboratories and clinics because they wanted to take the test. In other words, we would need a famous person to say publicly that they have Chagas, even if it were a lie. But it would be a true lieoh a good lie. Maybe, like this…”
Maybe so. Perhaps then many people would want to know more about Chagas, and would ask for diagnosis and treatment as a right. Maybe so many others celebrities influential people Latin Americans would talk about Chagas and cause their governments to seek more resources for Chagas care and their citizens to become better informed.
A truth that can no longer be ignored
Having used the name of a celebrity in life to make a fake news with a good end is not correct. A lie is always a lie.
Now, the experience of the pandemic, as well as recent conflicts and emergencies, shows that fake news They distort and look for very negative fines. The arguments of science, no matter how much they are based on evidence, are barely picked up by algorithms. of the networks nor do they penetrate that part of society and the political sector that takes advantage of the fake news for spurious fines. So, if the truth sometimes fails, why not give? a twist to the fake news and make it so that, for once, even if it is a small scale, they are of any use?
And no, Shakira, as far as is known, does not have Chagas, and from here we apologize for having put her name in an article that talks about a real disease, which is urgently needed to address, and for which Latin America, mainly, He has suffered from more than a hundred years of loneliness. I don’t know if this resource can turn curiosity into actionBut as the researcher said, perhaps we need more «true lies» to show a truth that can no longer be ignored. Maybe.
