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Show HN: Firefox addon that hides news articles about Covid-19

173 points by mailea 7y ago

vardump 7y ago
Direct link in English: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/phagocyte/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/phagocyte/
- lihaciudaniel 7y ago
  Thank you, this is the best thing right now binging on the news is unhealthy taking care of the community is better.
- mailea 7y ago
  Thanks! I didn't notice I posted the German version, will double check next time...
dessant 7y ago
I don't know. I think it's important to stay informed about the evolution of the pandemic, and local news are also extremely useful for staying prepared and anticipating certain actions that you'll need to take. It might be better to consume all news in small daily doses rather than blocking out potentially critical information.
- brokensegue 7y ago
  The only information you absolutely need to hear is "am I under a stay at home order or not". Other than that you can probably read no news until the election when you should figure out if you think Trump did a good job handling COVID-19 (lol).
  - dessant 7y ago
    > The only information you absolutely need to hear is "am I under a stay at home order or not". I doubt that's the case for most people, unless they have the luxury to completely isolate themselves for months.
    - brokensegue 7y ago
      I mean if you need aid you should actively seek it out not hope the news talks about it in between updating you on the death toll and such.
- prox 7y ago
  I agree, I understand the sentiment, but shutting yourself off is a dangerous head-in-the-sand strategy. Something to be used responsibly.
  - guerrilla 7y ago
    what is it you think they're not going to hear about eventually that their family, neighbors or strangers wont inform them of?
  - lbeltrame 7y ago
    I've had two anxiety attacks already when reading news in the past weeks, because the press and the goverment (I'm in Italy) love to only put the bad stuff out. Also the news were cause of many arguments among the family. For this reason, I decided to stop for the time being to read anything at all. The quarantine is already taxing (fifth week this Monday) and I don't want to make it worse it already is.
  - Barrin92 7y ago
    >but shutting yourself off is a dangerous head-in-the-sand strategy only if that actual makes a material difference in your life. I think the opposite is true in this case. People read about Covid-19 all day as a coping mechanism because absorbing more information gives people the illusion they have control over the situation. Reality is nobody has much individual control over a pandemic, life got more dangerous, and reading a thousand papers isn't going to reduce that anxiety. We live in an age where people keep telling us that 'knowing things' is an antidote to tragedy or danger in life, because they're content creators, but really it isn't. Everyone can learn how to deal with this in 5 minutes. Wash your hands, only leave your house if necessary, yet still people may die, even some you know. No news source in the world will fix that.
- KingFelix 7y ago
  I agree, staying informed is good. I also think taking a stroll on the internet to read other things happening non C19 related is also healthy.
  - behnamoh 7y ago
    Lots of good posts don't make it to HN's front page, and then there's this meaningless, harmful "Show HN"...
    - Der_Einzige 7y ago
      All the GitHub stars that show HN: has given me will keep me employable for a long time. Speak for yourself
  - focodev 7y ago
    That is very much a challenging task.
- agilebyte 7y ago
  Some municipalities/provinces (states) already have their own channels where you can consume important news OR they send emergency alerts to your phone (such as this morning in Ontario).
- crocodiletears 7y ago
  Keeping abreast of all news is important, but it's quite impossible to do unless you make a conscious effort to break out of the current news cycle. If you follow the news, you know there's a pandemic going on, and you know there's a wealth of information out there if you need it. But if you're skimming headlines on most aggregators, that's more or less all you get to know (with the notable exception of gripe-pieces/love-letters concerning the Trump administration). The cognitive overhead of filtering out all that redundant information, and the accompanying bullshit hot-takes by self-aggrandizing bloggers masquerading as journalists can be so exhausting that you risk giving up or developing tunnel-vision around it. It's hard not to remember to check for pandemic updates even if you do deliberately filter them out of the news - it directly effects you. I think this plug-in is a very good idea, and should make it easier to stay informed with respect to the bigger picture of the world. Missing a couple articles lamenting our circumstances isn't really going to save that many lives.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- catalogia 7y ago
  Very little of what I've read in the news has been actionable, particularly national/world news. What am I supposed to do with news about hospital supply shortages or crazy shoppers two thousand miles away? My local government's website and some local news stories have had more useful information. For examples, the top five headlines from lite.cnn.com/en/ right now: >This nurse demonstrates just how fast germs spread even if you're wearing gloves I'm not a nurse, and I don't have gloves, so this isn't actionable. It might be if I were a nurse, but I'm not. >Fact-check: Trump says some states aren't in jeopardy from the virus, denies saying it would go away by April There is nothing I can do about Trump being an idiot. Not actionable. > Opinion: Trump put American lives in China's hands Ditto. > Supplies could be delayed due to confusion from the White House, companies say Ditto. > Trump says HHS secretary meant the 'concept' of a pandemic kept him up at night in 2019 comment Ditto.
  - smcl 7y ago
    The news has long been more entertainment than information, at least in the US. And perhaps Trump stumbling with clown shoes through this whole ordeal is just confirming something you already know, but I'd hope that people who previously voted for him might cast a more critical eye over his actions in light of his shambolic response.
    - catalogia 7y ago
      Whether or not these sort of headlines are politically beneficial, my point is that very few of these news stories give me any information I can use regarding Covid-19. Really my comment wasn't about politics, it just happened that most of the top headlines were political. Here are two more headlines to better illustrate my point: >I moved to Paris during lockdown. Here's what I found I am not in Paris, so this article is worthless to me. There is nothing I can do with knowledge of the situation in Paris. > How to make your own face mask This however, is information I could actually put to use. Articles like this are sadly a minority.
- chukye 7y ago
  How exactly consuming all news in small daily doses is helping you? I don't think it's 'extremely' useful, actually I don't think it's useful at all!
- moron4hire 7y ago
  That presumes that paying attention to the news is the same thing as becoming informed
- clairity 7y ago
  nearly all of the current wall of corona news on every news site is designed to foment anxiety (entirely different from the "fake news" naysayers) and garner future clicks, rather than provide critical information. the public is already doing what they need to do (physical distancing, washing hands, self-quarantining if necessary). medical professionals and scientists (and their suppliers) need time and support to provide care, create/perform tests, and develop new treatments and protocols. beyond that, we need to get our houses in order and then just relax as much as we can and wait until we get substantial evidence to do something different. all this corona hysteria is entirely counter-productive.
  - joeyspn 7y ago
    Well, I'd say the situation is serious enough to require daily coverage in all front pages. This is the biggest global crisis since WW2. We've had a global underreaction that didn't pan out exactly well due to politicians and media sticking the head in the sand while the outbreak started in China. So I disagree, this is good, the situation is critical and people need to be fully aware/informed.
- Mediterraneo10 7y ago
  In many (most?) developed countries, citizens are automatically getting information on changes to the lockdown rules by SMS. So, there really is no need to read the news to hear about further restrictions. As other have mentioned, it only foments anxiety.
  - sharken 7y ago
    It’s not just about restrictions but also new discoveries and a more nuanced coverage than what the big media and government decides to tell us. Anything that can support critical and informed thinking really.
    - KoftaBob 7y ago
      I'd be surprised if even 5% of that coverage is actionable in any way.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
- qubots 7y ago
  > It might be better to consume all news in small daily doses rather than blocking out potentially critical information. I'd rather read the one news app on my phone - which basically covers everything of what's interesting about the pandemic - than trying to consume all news but ending up reading the same thing on every social platform. This add-on could be a solution to this.
  - guerrilla 7y ago
    sounds like everyone forgot what an RSS reader is already. that was fast...
- ravenstine 7y ago
  This just in, from Washington: Donald Trump is racist! In other news, we're all going to die! Are masks effective? Nobody seems to agree! #SocialDistancing! Next, we'll listen to experts predict things! Maybe they'll be right this time! More at 11! No, thanks.
- chippy 7y ago
  A healthy adult should be able to get the necessary information from other sources than have to consume the news.
- paxys 7y ago
  There is a limit IMO. Getting bombarded with COVID-19 news, videos, blogs, Tweets every second of the day is definitely not healthy. I would definitely prefer taking like 30 minutes 2-3 times a day to keep myself updated using my preferred sources.
  - smcl 7y ago
    Well the person you are replying to said "in small daily small doses". To be honest I think 30 minutes, 2-3 times a day is already well past that.
  - johntfella 7y ago
    yea. I no longer have facebook or twitter. nor reddit. hn i check monthly at most. I generally just keep to hammerstone feed that I check weekly.
- djsumdog 7y ago
  Every news source does sensational reporting and gives us conflicting information day by day. They do not report anything useful at this point. It's mindless. It's Orwellian. It's different depending on the network you listen to. The opinions change every day, all the leaders and corrupt, in every nation, and all we get are pieces of bullshit. The truth of all of this won't be known until at least two years out looking back, studying the news from this era. I do not think history will look kindly back on this moment. I think the future will hold 2020 as a cautionary tale, of how even when the dangers are real, we can still be susceptible to hysteria on a truly global scale.
- aantix 7y ago
  How many articles/tweets can you read about social distancing, washing your hands? Or one more article about others not doing those things? Ugh.
Qahlel 7y ago
ublock origin filter: a:has-text(Corona) a:has-text(Covid) a:has-text(Epidemic) a:has-text(Pandemic) a:has-text(Virus) a:has-text(Death) a:has-text(ICU) a:has-text(Social Distancing) a:has-text(corona) a:has-text(covid) a:has-text(epidemic) a:has-text(pandemic) a:has-text(virus) a:has-text(death) a:has-text(social distancing)
- myroon5 7y ago
  Are there not case insensitive ublock origin filters?
- ovx99 7y ago
  Will this remove just the word, or the entire paragraph, or what?
  - lostinroutine 7y ago
    Just any a-tag containing the listed phrases.
- iKenshu 7y ago
  I suppose that this only works with a-href right?
  - sovok_x 7y ago
    The filter is applied to entire content of a given tag and its subtags, here is the example for HN (has-text must be site-specific): news.ycombinator.com##.itemlist .athing:not(.comtr):has-text(/corona|covid|\bsars\b|(?:epi|pan)demi|virus|death|social distanc|\bICU\b|wuhan|quarantin/i)+* news.ycombinator.com##.itemlist .athing:not(.comtr):has-text(/corona|covid|\bsars\b|(?:epi|pan)demi|virus|death|social distanc|\bICU\b|wuhan|quarantin/i)
- lostinroutine 7y ago
  With ignoring case: a:has-text(/corona/i) a:has-text(/covid/i) a:has-text(/epidemic/i) a:has-text(/pandemic/i) a:has-text(/virus/i) a:has-text(/death/i) a:has-text(/ICU/i) a:has-text(/social distancing/i) One-liner: a:has-text(/corona|covid|epidemic|pandemic|virus|death|social distancing|ICU/i) Source: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Procedural-cosmetic-filters https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Procedural-cosmetic-f...
jonathanoliver 7y ago
I'm seriously thinking I should develop a plug-in that blocks news articles about the Kardashians.
- kgwxd 7y ago
  I made and use this to do exactly that: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ssure/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ssure/ I recently added "covid" and "corona" to my desktop list, I wouldn't have seen this post, or your comment (because you said Kardashian) but I dont use my phone to browse much so I haven't updated the list much.
  - thelittleone 7y ago
    I have the same plugin, it’s very effective.. I blocked them years ago and have largely forgot they exist.
    - kgwxd 7y ago
      Wait, someone besides me is using it? And browsing the same HN thread nearly the same time as me?
      - thelittleone 7y ago
        I'm pleased to meet someone who shares the same desire to ignore attention seekers :) This warrants the founding of a secret society (of 2) with cloaks and moose hats.
    - mavsman 7y ago
      2 out of the total 6 users of the plugin, and one of the others has to be the author. Amazing.
- guerrilla 7y ago
  I've never seen an article about the Kardashians. Maybe your news sources are the problem.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
tomaszs 7y ago
Thanks for the plugin. I dont know about other countries, but here in Poland we receive SMSes with crucial informations. So there is no need to read all the time about it. Unfortunately it is very hard to read anything else these days. This plugin can help. We need to take care of our mental health. And it is very easy to go into panic mode. Especially since its very hard to notice symptoms of this. It can be bad for our health also. So again thanks. Appreciated
miked85 7y ago
How is ignoring a major event like this in any way good?
- theferalrobot 7y ago
  You can stay informed while also not wanting to fall into the 24hr news cycle drama. I don’t think it’s healthy personally for me to read every bit of information on it I see. I’m staying at home, I’d rather be doing something productive and check in every few days.
- arkanciscan 7y ago
  There is no possible way to ignore what is happening right now. If you want a Cov-19 blocker, you know all you need to know already.
- chukye 7y ago
  How seeing a lot of news about an event that I can't do anything is good? It just gets me depressing! Watch the news is the worst thing at the moment! I'm encouraging everyone that I love to stay away from this. Fear/depression is way worst than this virus.
  - miked85 7y ago
    There can definitely be information overload. But ignoring everything is not good either.
    - chukye 7y ago
      I'm sorry, but I really don't understand why ignoring is not good.
      - miked85 7y ago
        You don't understand why ignoring news during the biggest global pandemic in a century might not be wise?
pauldelany 7y ago
https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Joo_Janta_200_Super-Chromatic_Peril_Sensitive_Sunglasses https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Joo_Janta_200_Super-Chro...
chmanie 7y ago
This means this Show HN link won’t show when using the plugin? Clever.
jasonv 7y ago
I keep a long list of blocked words in Twitter, Feedly, and I try... as much as I can, to only consume news on reuters.com (and 4 print weeklies). I block CNN and Facebook in my hosts file. And yet, I'm barraged on the web with celebrity news, popular news, Tiger King (never clicked on it, never wanted it, can't get away from it), whatever the foamy coffee thing that's big right now. I know about the shelters in place. I knew not to bring my re-usable bags to the grocery this morning. The whole of media, content, everything you see when you open your browser and leave the house, is a monumental barrage of trending, overwhelming, unavoidable content. Memes you can't get away from but which you'll see hundreds, thousands of times. Whatever people need to do to get away from it... you'll still get it, but if you choose and are aware of the filters you use, by all means.
- AznHisoka 7y ago
  I saw the first episode of Tiger King, expecting to see some epic, thrilling dramatic series, given all the buzz. I was severely disappointed. Is this really what humans love to watch?
  - laxd 7y ago
    I'm on episode 4 as we speak, taking it for what it is (low brow entertainment). Still waiting for it to live up to the hype. I've seen far more engaging junk.
  - fortran77 7y ago
    Are you a cat? C'mon now. People who read Hacker News are as human as anyone else. I personally love popular television reality shows, and I bet you do, too.
    - surewhynat 7y ago
      I don't think the comment was meant to exclude him or herself from humanity. I interpreted the sentence as inclusive of him or herself, but riddled with shame for our species, ie: why do you human beings like trash tv?
  - 7y ago
barrystaes 7y ago
So you are saying, it would be possible to block news on the latest trump thing that happened? Its great to have a laugh but it gets old fast. Would never block Covid-19 myself, but then again i think the media in the Netherlands are quite informative and value quality content above quantity.
dccoolgai 7y ago
Document.write('')
tylermac1 7y ago
I have to say. Staying off Twitter and avoiding any non-local news has been incredibly beneficial to my mental health over the past few weeks.
of_course 7y ago
This is what anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, alcohol, stimulants and all other drugs do to your brain. Pretend the problems aren't there, and they'll actually just go away all by themselves! "Close your eyes, and the world disappears."
ajoy 7y ago
For those who don't want spend too much time on news, but want to stay informed, do check us out : https://www.thefactual.com https://www.thefactual.com (daily newsletter with summaries and multiple viewpoints from curated news sources)
lhdj 7y ago
I was literally developing the exact same thing (I called it Novid-19 [1]). While testing it out on HN, I saw a post filtered out. It was this post... [1] https://github.com/christoshadjiaslanis/novid-19 https://github.com/christoshadjiaslanis/novid-19
- tallon 7y ago
  You just made me spit out my coffee, thanks!
radenska 7y ago
i'm making one that replaces that psyop name with the disease's actual name: SARS-2.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > i'm making one that replaces that psyop name with the virus's actual name: SARS-2. The virus's actual name is SARS-CoV-2, the disease’s actual name is COVID-19. [0] SARS-2 is the name of neither, and neither of the actual names is a “psyop name” and calling it that is serious tinfoil hat territory. [0] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...
  - radenska 7y ago
    meant disease; point stands: IN 2002 the virus was named SARS-CoV and the disease SARS
    - dragonwriter 7y ago
      > IN 2002 the virus was named SARS-CoV and the disease SARS Yes, and...so what? There's no consistent relationship between naming of diseases and naming of related viruses, so trying to paint a conspiracy out of the fact that a pattern you've extrapolated from one other example (and which is takes ignoring most every other disease/virus pairing to paint as the normal pattern) wasn't followed is, again, serious tinfoil hat territory. The actual name of the disease is not SARS-2, nor is there any particular reason it should be.
      - radenska 7y ago
        you are a eunuch nigger cattle. stay docile and mindless for the WHO
johntfella 7y ago
be interesting if augmented reality eventually allows you to block things in real life such as political signs or billboard adds. sort of a pi hole, but with goggles. granted this comment is not related but thats what i thought of after reviewing comments on here.
mouzogu 7y ago
Oh great so I'm not the only one who's avoiding all of this. I stopped following the news after the Guardian put up a death counter. There just isn't enough balance and too much negativity - or at least there was two weeks ago when I last checked. I can only imagine how bad it must be on those 24hr news channels. Regurgitating the same thing over and over again.

173 points by mailea 7y ago

Direct link in English: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/phagocyte/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/phagocyte/

lihaciudaniel 7y ago
Thank you, this is the best thing right now binging on the news is unhealthy taking care of the community is better.
mailea 7y ago
Thanks! I didn't notice I posted the German version, will double check next time...

dessant 7y ago

I don't know. I think it's important to stay informed about the evolution of the pandemic, and local news are also extremely useful for staying prepared and anticipating certain actions that you'll need to take. It might be better to consume all news in small daily doses rather than blocking out potentially critical information.

brokensegue 7y ago
The only information you absolutely need to hear is "am I under a stay at home order or not". Other than that you can probably read no news until the election when you should figure out if you think Trump did a good job handling COVID-19 (lol).
- dessant 7y ago
  > The only information you absolutely need to hear is "am I under a stay at home order or not". I doubt that's the case for most people, unless they have the luxury to completely isolate themselves for months.
  - brokensegue 7y ago
    I mean if you need aid you should actively seek it out not hope the news talks about it in between updating you on the death toll and such.
prox 7y ago
I agree, I understand the sentiment, but shutting yourself off is a dangerous head-in-the-sand strategy. Something to be used responsibly.
- guerrilla 7y ago
  what is it you think they're not going to hear about eventually that their family, neighbors or strangers wont inform them of?
- lbeltrame 7y ago
  I've had two anxiety attacks already when reading news in the past weeks, because the press and the goverment (I'm in Italy) love to only put the bad stuff out. Also the news were cause of many arguments among the family. For this reason, I decided to stop for the time being to read anything at all. The quarantine is already taxing (fifth week this Monday) and I don't want to make it worse it already is.
- Barrin92 7y ago
  >but shutting yourself off is a dangerous head-in-the-sand strategy only if that actual makes a material difference in your life. I think the opposite is true in this case. People read about Covid-19 all day as a coping mechanism because absorbing more information gives people the illusion they have control over the situation. Reality is nobody has much individual control over a pandemic, life got more dangerous, and reading a thousand papers isn't going to reduce that anxiety. We live in an age where people keep telling us that 'knowing things' is an antidote to tragedy or danger in life, because they're content creators, but really it isn't. Everyone can learn how to deal with this in 5 minutes. Wash your hands, only leave your house if necessary, yet still people may die, even some you know. No news source in the world will fix that.
KingFelix 7y ago
I agree, staying informed is good. I also think taking a stroll on the internet to read other things happening non C19 related is also healthy.
- behnamoh 7y ago
  Lots of good posts don't make it to HN's front page, and then there's this meaningless, harmful "Show HN"...
  - Der_Einzige 7y ago
    All the GitHub stars that show HN: has given me will keep me employable for a long time. Speak for yourself
- focodev 7y ago
  That is very much a challenging task.
agilebyte 7y ago
Some municipalities/provinces (states) already have their own channels where you can consume important news OR they send emergency alerts to your phone (such as this morning in Ontario).
crocodiletears 7y ago
Keeping abreast of all news is important, but it's quite impossible to do unless you make a conscious effort to break out of the current news cycle. If you follow the news, you know there's a pandemic going on, and you know there's a wealth of information out there if you need it. But if you're skimming headlines on most aggregators, that's more or less all you get to know (with the notable exception of gripe-pieces/love-letters concerning the Trump administration). The cognitive overhead of filtering out all that redundant information, and the accompanying bullshit hot-takes by self-aggrandizing bloggers masquerading as journalists can be so exhausting that you risk giving up or developing tunnel-vision around it. It's hard not to remember to check for pandemic updates even if you do deliberately filter them out of the news - it directly effects you. I think this plug-in is a very good idea, and should make it easier to stay informed with respect to the bigger picture of the world. Missing a couple articles lamenting our circumstances isn't really going to save that many lives.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
catalogia 7y ago
Very little of what I've read in the news has been actionable, particularly national/world news. What am I supposed to do with news about hospital supply shortages or crazy shoppers two thousand miles away? My local government's website and some local news stories have had more useful information. For examples, the top five headlines from lite.cnn.com/en/ right now: >This nurse demonstrates just how fast germs spread even if you're wearing gloves I'm not a nurse, and I don't have gloves, so this isn't actionable. It might be if I were a nurse, but I'm not. >Fact-check: Trump says some states aren't in jeopardy from the virus, denies saying it would go away by April There is nothing I can do about Trump being an idiot. Not actionable. > Opinion: Trump put American lives in China's hands Ditto. > Supplies could be delayed due to confusion from the White House, companies say Ditto. > Trump says HHS secretary meant the 'concept' of a pandemic kept him up at night in 2019 comment Ditto.
- smcl 7y ago
  The news has long been more entertainment than information, at least in the US. And perhaps Trump stumbling with clown shoes through this whole ordeal is just confirming something you already know, but I'd hope that people who previously voted for him might cast a more critical eye over his actions in light of his shambolic response.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    Whether or not these sort of headlines are politically beneficial, my point is that very few of these news stories give me any information I can use regarding Covid-19. Really my comment wasn't about politics, it just happened that most of the top headlines were political. Here are two more headlines to better illustrate my point: >I moved to Paris during lockdown. Here's what I found I am not in Paris, so this article is worthless to me. There is nothing I can do with knowledge of the situation in Paris. > How to make your own face mask This however, is information I could actually put to use. Articles like this are sadly a minority.
chukye 7y ago
How exactly consuming all news in small daily doses is helping you? I don't think it's 'extremely' useful, actually I don't think it's useful at all!
moron4hire 7y ago
That presumes that paying attention to the news is the same thing as becoming informed
clairity 7y ago
nearly all of the current wall of corona news on every news site is designed to foment anxiety (entirely different from the "fake news" naysayers) and garner future clicks, rather than provide critical information. the public is already doing what they need to do (physical distancing, washing hands, self-quarantining if necessary). medical professionals and scientists (and their suppliers) need time and support to provide care, create/perform tests, and develop new treatments and protocols. beyond that, we need to get our houses in order and then just relax as much as we can and wait until we get substantial evidence to do something different. all this corona hysteria is entirely counter-productive.
- joeyspn 7y ago
  Well, I'd say the situation is serious enough to require daily coverage in all front pages. This is the biggest global crisis since WW2. We've had a global underreaction that didn't pan out exactly well due to politicians and media sticking the head in the sand while the outbreak started in China. So I disagree, this is good, the situation is critical and people need to be fully aware/informed.
Mediterraneo10 7y ago
In many (most?) developed countries, citizens are automatically getting information on changes to the lockdown rules by SMS. So, there really is no need to read the news to hear about further restrictions. As other have mentioned, it only foments anxiety.
- sharken 7y ago
  It’s not just about restrictions but also new discoveries and a more nuanced coverage than what the big media and government decides to tell us. Anything that can support critical and informed thinking really.
  - KoftaBob 7y ago
    I'd be surprised if even 5% of that coverage is actionable in any way.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
qubots 7y ago
> It might be better to consume all news in small daily doses rather than blocking out potentially critical information. I'd rather read the one news app on my phone - which basically covers everything of what's interesting about the pandemic - than trying to consume all news but ending up reading the same thing on every social platform. This add-on could be a solution to this.
- guerrilla 7y ago
  sounds like everyone forgot what an RSS reader is already. that was fast...
ravenstine 7y ago
This just in, from Washington: Donald Trump is racist! In other news, we're all going to die! Are masks effective? Nobody seems to agree! #SocialDistancing! Next, we'll listen to experts predict things! Maybe they'll be right this time! More at 11! No, thanks.
chippy 7y ago
A healthy adult should be able to get the necessary information from other sources than have to consume the news.
paxys 7y ago
There is a limit IMO. Getting bombarded with COVID-19 news, videos, blogs, Tweets every second of the day is definitely not healthy. I would definitely prefer taking like 30 minutes 2-3 times a day to keep myself updated using my preferred sources.
- smcl 7y ago
  Well the person you are replying to said "in small daily small doses". To be honest I think 30 minutes, 2-3 times a day is already well past that.
- johntfella 7y ago
  yea. I no longer have facebook or twitter. nor reddit. hn i check monthly at most. I generally just keep to hammerstone feed that I check weekly.
djsumdog 7y ago
Every news source does sensational reporting and gives us conflicting information day by day. They do not report anything useful at this point. It's mindless. It's Orwellian. It's different depending on the network you listen to. The opinions change every day, all the leaders and corrupt, in every nation, and all we get are pieces of bullshit. The truth of all of this won't be known until at least two years out looking back, studying the news from this era. I do not think history will look kindly back on this moment. I think the future will hold 2020 as a cautionary tale, of how even when the dangers are real, we can still be susceptible to hysteria on a truly global scale.
aantix 7y ago
How many articles/tweets can you read about social distancing, washing your hands? Or one more article about others not doing those things? Ugh.

Qahlel 7y ago

ublock origin filter: a:has-text(Corona) a:has-text(Covid) a:has-text(Epidemic) a:has-text(Pandemic) a:has-text(Virus) a:has-text(Death) a:has-text(ICU) a:has-text(Social Distancing) a:has-text(corona) a:has-text(covid) a:has-text(epidemic) a:has-text(pandemic) a:has-text(virus) a:has-text(death) a:has-text(social distancing)

myroon5 7y ago
Are there not case insensitive ublock origin filters?
ovx99 7y ago
Will this remove just the word, or the entire paragraph, or what?
- lostinroutine 7y ago
  Just any a-tag containing the listed phrases.
iKenshu 7y ago
I suppose that this only works with a-href right?
- sovok_x 7y ago
  The filter is applied to entire content of a given tag and its subtags, here is the example for HN (has-text must be site-specific): news.ycombinator.com##.itemlist .athing:not(.comtr):has-text(/corona|covid|\bsars\b|(?:epi|pan)demi|virus|death|social distanc|\bICU\b|wuhan|quarantin/i)+* news.ycombinator.com##.itemlist .athing:not(.comtr):has-text(/corona|covid|\bsars\b|(?:epi|pan)demi|virus|death|social distanc|\bICU\b|wuhan|quarantin/i)
lostinroutine 7y ago
With ignoring case: a:has-text(/corona/i) a:has-text(/covid/i) a:has-text(/epidemic/i) a:has-text(/pandemic/i) a:has-text(/virus/i) a:has-text(/death/i) a:has-text(/ICU/i) a:has-text(/social distancing/i) One-liner: a:has-text(/corona|covid|epidemic|pandemic|virus|death|social distancing|ICU/i) Source: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Procedural-cosmetic-filters https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Procedural-cosmetic-f...

jonathanoliver 7y ago

I'm seriously thinking I should develop a plug-in that blocks news articles about the Kardashians.

kgwxd 7y ago
I made and use this to do exactly that: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ssure/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ssure/ I recently added "covid" and "corona" to my desktop list, I wouldn't have seen this post, or your comment (because you said Kardashian) but I dont use my phone to browse much so I haven't updated the list much.
- thelittleone 7y ago
  I have the same plugin, it’s very effective.. I blocked them years ago and have largely forgot they exist.
  - kgwxd 7y ago
    Wait, someone besides me is using it? And browsing the same HN thread nearly the same time as me?
    - thelittleone 7y ago
      I'm pleased to meet someone who shares the same desire to ignore attention seekers :) This warrants the founding of a secret society (of 2) with cloaks and moose hats.
  - mavsman 7y ago
    2 out of the total 6 users of the plugin, and one of the others has to be the author. Amazing.
guerrilla 7y ago
I've never seen an article about the Kardashians. Maybe your news sources are the problem.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

tomaszs 7y ago

Thanks for the plugin. I dont know about other countries, but here in Poland we receive SMSes with crucial informations. So there is no need to read all the time about it. Unfortunately it is very hard to read anything else these days. This plugin can help. We need to take care of our mental health. And it is very easy to go into panic mode. Especially since its very hard to notice symptoms of this. It can be bad for our health also. So again thanks. Appreciated

miked85 7y ago

How is ignoring a major event like this in any way good?

theferalrobot 7y ago
You can stay informed while also not wanting to fall into the 24hr news cycle drama. I don’t think it’s healthy personally for me to read every bit of information on it I see. I’m staying at home, I’d rather be doing something productive and check in every few days.
arkanciscan 7y ago
There is no possible way to ignore what is happening right now. If you want a Cov-19 blocker, you know all you need to know already.
chukye 7y ago
How seeing a lot of news about an event that I can't do anything is good? It just gets me depressing! Watch the news is the worst thing at the moment! I'm encouraging everyone that I love to stay away from this. Fear/depression is way worst than this virus.
- miked85 7y ago
  There can definitely be information overload. But ignoring everything is not good either.
  - chukye 7y ago
    I'm sorry, but I really don't understand why ignoring is not good.
    - miked85 7y ago
      You don't understand why ignoring news during the biggest global pandemic in a century might not be wise?

pauldelany 7y ago

https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Joo_Janta_200_Super-Chromatic_Peril_Sensitive_Sunglasses https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Joo_Janta_200_Super-Chro...

chmanie 7y ago

This means this Show HN link won’t show when using the plugin? Clever.

jasonv 7y ago

I keep a long list of blocked words in Twitter, Feedly, and I try... as much as I can, to only consume news on reuters.com (and 4 print weeklies). I block CNN and Facebook in my hosts file. And yet, I'm barraged on the web with celebrity news, popular news, Tiger King (never clicked on it, never wanted it, can't get away from it), whatever the foamy coffee thing that's big right now. I know about the shelters in place. I knew not to bring my re-usable bags to the grocery this morning. The whole of media, content, everything you see when you open your browser and leave the house, is a monumental barrage of trending, overwhelming, unavoidable content. Memes you can't get away from but which you'll see hundreds, thousands of times. Whatever people need to do to get away from it... you'll still get it, but if you choose and are aware of the filters you use, by all means.

AznHisoka 7y ago
I saw the first episode of Tiger King, expecting to see some epic, thrilling dramatic series, given all the buzz. I was severely disappointed. Is this really what humans love to watch?
- laxd 7y ago
  I'm on episode 4 as we speak, taking it for what it is (low brow entertainment). Still waiting for it to live up to the hype. I've seen far more engaging junk.
- fortran77 7y ago
  Are you a cat? C'mon now. People who read Hacker News are as human as anyone else. I personally love popular television reality shows, and I bet you do, too.
  - surewhynat 7y ago
    I don't think the comment was meant to exclude him or herself from humanity. I interpreted the sentence as inclusive of him or herself, but riddled with shame for our species, ie: why do you human beings like trash tv?
- 7y ago

barrystaes 7y ago

So you are saying, it would be possible to block news on the latest trump thing that happened? Its great to have a laugh but it gets old fast. Would never block Covid-19 myself, but then again i think the media in the Netherlands are quite informative and value quality content above quantity.

dccoolgai 7y ago

Document.write('')

tylermac1 7y ago

I have to say. Staying off Twitter and avoiding any non-local news has been incredibly beneficial to my mental health over the past few weeks.

of_course 7y ago

This is what anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, alcohol, stimulants and all other drugs do to your brain. Pretend the problems aren't there, and they'll actually just go away all by themselves! "Close your eyes, and the world disappears."

ajoy 7y ago

For those who don't want spend too much time on news, but want to stay informed, do check us out : https://www.thefactual.com https://www.thefactual.com (daily newsletter with summaries and multiple viewpoints from curated news sources)

lhdj 7y ago

I was literally developing the exact same thing (I called it Novid-19 [1]). While testing it out on HN, I saw a post filtered out. It was this post... [1] https://github.com/christoshadjiaslanis/novid-19 https://github.com/christoshadjiaslanis/novid-19

tallon 7y ago
You just made me spit out my coffee, thanks!

radenska 7y ago

i'm making one that replaces that psyop name with the disease's actual name: SARS-2.

dragonwriter 7y ago
> i'm making one that replaces that psyop name with the virus's actual name: SARS-2. The virus's actual name is SARS-CoV-2, the disease’s actual name is COVID-19. [0] SARS-2 is the name of neither, and neither of the actual names is a “psyop name” and calling it that is serious tinfoil hat territory. [0] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...
- radenska 7y ago
  meant disease; point stands: IN 2002 the virus was named SARS-CoV and the disease SARS
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > IN 2002 the virus was named SARS-CoV and the disease SARS Yes, and...so what? There's no consistent relationship between naming of diseases and naming of related viruses, so trying to paint a conspiracy out of the fact that a pattern you've extrapolated from one other example (and which is takes ignoring most every other disease/virus pairing to paint as the normal pattern) wasn't followed is, again, serious tinfoil hat territory. The actual name of the disease is not SARS-2, nor is there any particular reason it should be.
    - radenska 7y ago
      you are a eunuch nigger cattle. stay docile and mindless for the WHO

johntfella 7y ago

be interesting if augmented reality eventually allows you to block things in real life such as political signs or billboard adds. sort of a pi hole, but with goggles. granted this comment is not related but thats what i thought of after reviewing comments on here.

mouzogu 7y ago

Oh great so I'm not the only one who's avoiding all of this. I stopped following the news after the Guardian put up a death counter. There just isn't enough balance and too much negativity - or at least there was two weeks ago when I last checked. I can only imagine how bad it must be on those 24hr news channels. Regurgitating the same thing over and over again.