Tech companies rescind job offers, Amber Heard on social media’s power and Americans’ opinions on cancel culture

Hello, communicators:

An epidemiologist with the University of Illinois-Chicago is using Justin Bieber’s recent diagnosis to educate Twitter users about Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Katrine Wallace, a doctor of epidemiology at UIC, broke down the reasons why Bieber’s diagnosis is unlikely to be a side effect of a vaccine:

https://twitter.com/DrKatEpi/status/1535735383706816513

“The varicella virus [which causes chickenpox] stays dormant in the nerves after an infection,” she writes. “*Any* stress to the immune system can cause a reawakening of the virus and a case of shingles. So to be clear: Shingles (& Ramsay Hunt) are caused by the varicella virus, not a vaccine.”

It’s a good example of using soft newsjacking to educate and inform, rather than promote a person or brand product.

Here are today’s other top stories:

Actress Amber Heard is acknowledging the powerful social media PR strategy Johnny Depp’s team put in place during the former couple’s defamation trial.

In an interview with NBC’s Samantha Guthrie, a preview of which aired earlier this week, Heard addressed the social media hubbub surrounding the trial, calling it “unfair.”