{
  "id": 8964475,
  "title": "COVID-19 — not TikTok — is disabling young women",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/covid-19-not-tiktok-is-disabling-young-women",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-21T16:47:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Sick Times",
    "slug": "the-sick-times",
    "url": "https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/21/covid-19-not-tiktok-is-disabling-young-women/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An article titled \"How having a disability became cool\" claims that young women, often referred to as \"sickfluencers,\" are turning chronic illnesses into a lifestyle trend, shifting the focus away from the impact of COVID-19. However, this perspective is misguided. It ignores the systemic issues that disabled individuals face, such as discrimination and economic inactivity. These challenges are not alleviated by the existence of chronic conditions like POTS, ME, and EDS, which have seen a significant rise in prevalence since the onset of the pandemic. The article's tone is dismissive and misrepresents the reality faced by disabled people, who are not motivated to \"fake\" their disabilities. Instead, the increasing incidence of these conditions is a direct consequence of the unchecked spread of COVID-19.",
  "summary": "The Telegraph published an article titled, “How having a disability became cool.\" This article shores up the government narrative that rising rates of disability are being driven, not by the ongoing and unchecked spread of COVID-19, but by people just deciding they want to “identify as disabled.” The post COVID-19 — not TikTok — is disabling young women first appeared on The Sick Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}