Retweeting COVID-19 disability issues: Risks,

Two studies Initial study of tweets March 10 to April 4, 2020
Published as “Retweeting Covid-19 disability issues: Risks, support and outrage”.
Follow-up study March 10 to November 7, 2020
Reported here for the first time.<br>

Methods Used a program (Mozdeh) to collect English tweets matching one of COVID-19, coronavirus, and “corona virus” continually from March 10 (47 million tweets).
Identified a subset matching disab, ableism, ableist, or pwd (people with disabilities).
Ranked tweets by retweet count.
Checked the most highly retweeted to eliminate duplicates and irrelevant tweets.
Grouped the top 100 highly retweeted tweets by theme.<br>

Results The top 100 retweets account for 437,271 retweets and probably 2 million Likes.
All except one were supportive of disability issues.
Three were tweets announcing the deaths of people with disabilities.
The following slides report the main themes.<br>

Untruths to people with disabilities exposed (4 tweets; 142,927 retweets) Things Covid has proven: 1. The job you were told couldn't be done remotely can be done remotely. 2. Many disabled workers could have been working from home, but corporations just didnt want them to. 3. Internet is a utility, not a luxury. 4. Universal healthcare is necessary
As a disabled person it hurts to see all the adjustments that we’ve been denied suddenly be made available because non-disabled people might get sick. But we will remember, we see you & your ableism. So next time you deny us accommodations, we will say “but during Coronavirus?”<br>

Don’t write off people with disabilities (32 tweets; 115,686 retweets) Folks, when you say "The corona virus isn't a big deal, it only kills the disabled, elderly, chronically-ill, and immunocompromised," the implication is that those people are expendable. Please be more careful.
If your college’s covid-19 plan doesn’t center houseless students, first-gen/ low-income students, international students, immunocompromised students, and students with disabilities then it isn’t a recovery plan it’s a death wish.<br>

Don’t write off people with disabilities (anti-disabled steps) Disabled ppl are getting letters from their GPs asking them to sign DNRs so health services can be saved for the “young & fit who have a greater chance” with #COVID19. This is why we call out shitty narratives & comms that exclude us bc this is where they land. #DeadlyAbleism
Alabama won't provide ventilators to the mentally disabled. The Governor who signed the most dangerous anti-choice bill into law included eugenism in her coronavirus response. It's not hyperbole, Kay Ivy is a literal Nazi.<br>

Support for people with disabilities (14 tweets; 40,627 retweets) [] Let us #PrayTogether for persons with disabilities and those who assist them.
Woolworths has opened its doors exclusively to the elderly and people with disabilities for a dedicated shopping hour. […]
[] Do you know anyone in Subang Jaya who are unable to cook their own meals due to old age and disabilities? Subang Jaya Gurdwara will deliver meals to them. []<br>

Social security (4 tweets; 20,193 retweets) Social Security is the most effective anti-poverty tool for seniors and people with disabilities to live with dignity. Pass it on.
If you are as DISGUSTED as I am by Trump's plan to CUT Social Security for seniors and people with disabilities in the middle of #COVID19 please respond with 👎 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎<br>

Politics (9 tweets; 17,754 retweets) just so we're clear: the guy currently denying we have a Covid-19 problem stole money from a charity for children with cancer and kicked his developmentally-disabled nephew off the Trump family healthcare plan. []
The UK economy allows 54 billionaires to live tax free whilst taking away mobility from disabled people and school dinners away from children. The economy has been broken for years. COVID-19 simply exposed this.<br>

Positive tweets (5 tweets; 17,202 retweets) Abled people: NO WE CANNOT DO REMOTE CONFERENCES ITS SOOOO HaRd Disabled ppl: it's not that hard rly, just try Abled ppl: NOO…
[@BarackObama] And @cripchick, a disabled activist, understands what it’s like for people with particular vulnerabilities to come together for support:
This is HUGE for disabled people! Companies have been telling us disabled folks for years the reason they wouldn't hire us because the work couldn't be done from home remotely. Bullsh*t It could have then. It sure as hell can now. HIRE DISABLED PEOPLE<br>

Long covid (4 tweets; 12,492 retweets) I wrote abut getting COVID in the first wave of NYers in March and how I didn't get better really and have developed a disability. []
We’re already seeing it in our ERs and clinics. So many who survived #COVID19 but continue to experience long-term symptoms and disability. We urgently need more research and resources dedicated to better understanding how to support their recovery.<br>

Voting for people with disabilities (6 tweets; 10,086 retweets) There are more than 35M people living with a disability who are eligible to vote. But too often voting is inaccessible. This National Disability Voter Registration Week, I’m calling on Congress to pass my VoteSafe Act to make voting in the age of coronavirus accessible for all.
Voter suppression is no longer billy clubs & Jim Crow. It’s closed polling sites + 6 hr waits w/o pay. COVID is no excuse. Who needs to vote in person? The disabled. The homeless or displaced. Voters w/language barriers. Folks who didn’t get their ballots in time. Americans.<br>

People with disabilities at greater risk (7 tweets; 9,996 retweets) NEW WHO guidance on disability during #COVID19. Populations with #disability may be impacted more significantly by #coronavirus. This can be mitigated if simple actions & protective measures are taken
Dear ableds: Panic buying is not going to protect you from COVID-19. But it will make daily life much harder for disabled people who are immunocompromised and need those products. Be mindful of your privilege and access, please.<br>

Study limitations A minority of citizens use Twitter and important issues could be discussed in other media.
Probably a left/liberal political bias.
Only English language tweets included.
Other issues may have been discussed in many tweets that were not commonly retweeted.
A tweet needs to be timely or worded well to resonate?<br>

Conclusions Twitter seems to be supportive about disabilities – at least for highly retweeted.
Highly retweeted tweets mostly discuss support, outrage at people with disabilities being written off, or disbelief that impossible work adjustments are suddenly possible.
Many political issues are represented – from a liberal/left perspective.
Little information about disability-related COVID-19 risks, but perhaps this is known from the mainstream media.
Twitter can serve as a partial record of important issues during Covid-19 – particularly the sea change about working at home.<br>