12. But we are also fighting on a second front that we did not anticipate, fighting a battle against misinformation and disinformation in a hyper-partisan environment where our predictions and recommendations about the pandemic response are deeply politicized.
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13. Every twist and turn that the pandemic takes is seized upon by one side or other to claim that some fraction of us are incompetent if not outright mendacious. Researchers are pilloried for updating their beliefs based on new information.
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14. In this environment, when unexpected facts come to light — a higher than anticipated R0, for example — they are used to discredit scientists who made correct inferences given the data that they had available at the time.
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15. I think that some of the best practicing epidemiologists right now may be able to largely turn a blind eye to the social furor churning around their work, especially if they are not immediately involved in setting policy. At least I hope that they are.
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16. Because I've spent this pandemic at the interface of the research and scientific communication domains, I haven't been able to do that. And it's exhausting. It's demoralizing. I feel genuine sorrow over the way our society has become so polarized.
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17. Every morning I wake up after 4-6 hours of fitful sleep; in that time I've received hundreds of comments, email messages, DMs, and other communications. Many are positive and supportive and I appreciate them very much.
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18. But there are also a slew of vicious invectives. Attacks on my motives, my character, my intelligence. Calls for me to be reprimanded or fired by my university for my efforts (for what, I still don't understand). Ill wishes regarding my health. You name it.
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19. I'm sure that 99% of these are motivated by what we call tribal epistemology, the idea that truth is determined not so much by the facts as by the way that a claim aligns with the story that a preferred leader is telling.
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20. I try to shake these off, and turn to the day's science news. This gets hard with every consecutive 100-hour week. Every day, there are new scicomm crises blowing up, and the thing that kills me is that they are almost without exception MANUFACTURED with political intent.
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21. And I guess this is the crux of the thread, though I didn't know it until I got here. (Twitter is an odd medium, writing stream-of-consciousness, unable to edit let alone restructure.) For me, this is the heartbreaking part. It turns out we're not all in this together.
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Replying to @kimmaicutler @CT_Bergstrom
Renee DiResta Retweeted Carl T. Bergstrom
Yeah I agree - except with this. Antivax/measles narratives were politicized 5 years ago. Zika was a conspiratorial mess. There was no doubt in my mind that this would be both. https://twitter.com/ct_bergstrom/status/1243260498134499328?s=21 …https://twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1243260498134499328 …
Renee DiResta added,
Carl T. BergstromVerified account @CT_Bergstrom12. But we are also fighting on a second front that we did not anticipate, fighting a battle against misinformation and disinformation in a hyper-partisan environment where our predictions and recommendations about the pandemic response are deeply politicized.Show this thread0 replies 0 retweets 2 likesThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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