A new study by the University of Minnesota suggests that Craigslist is in some ways responsible for helping fuel the spread of HIV in U.S. cities.

The findings, published in MIS Quarterly, show that when the online message board introduces personals to a new market in the U.S., the arrival was linked to a “15.9 percent increase in reported HIV cases.

After factoring out other explanations for the increases, the investigators concluded that Craigslist likely played a role in a nearly 16 percent rise in HIV cases in those locales.

The study also concluded that it was casual hook-ups, not sex worker transactions that were responsible for the rise. This seems in line with previous findings that sex workers who find their clients online are less likely to participate in risky sexual practices with those patrons.

The paper’s title, “Internet’s Dirty Secret: Assessing the Impact of Online Intermediaries on HIV Transmission,” has struck some in the field as unusually “judgmental.”


http://www.thegailygrind.com/2015/02...new-hiv-cases/