I applaud efforts at stopping harmful misinformation, but, I'm sorry but there is a lot of top-down misinformation as well. Who's judging? We had months of many journalists from high-prestige sources arguing what-about-the-flu with those of us who were trying to raise the alarm.
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Folks, think about the last two months. Rethink assumptions. Misinformation is not just the problem of "other" people who believe, say, in aromatherapy for COVID-19. There are many kinds of misinformation. We had massive amounts of top-down misinformation from "credible" sources.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted
What if I didn't have access to the NYT? I don't think people have digested the depth of dis/misinformation that was out there for months. Some societies leapt to action despite government intransigience—ours did not. There are multiple failures here. https://twitter.com/mykfmn/status/1240663099553742849 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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I wish, wish, wish the problem was "easy-to-identify misinformation there" versus "credible authorities here". If that were the problem, we wouldn't be facing all this. The authorities have to learn how to earn credibility, but first, they have to see & admit their own problems.
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Anyway lemme get back to trying to write more of this long-form.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted zeynep tufekci
Just putting the mask oped and thread with the debate here. I was scared to write this. I expected big pushback. Instead, I got medical folks from all over contacting me privately and thanking me for saying the obvious—in contradiction to CDC and WHO line.https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1239903421970501640 …
zeynep tufekci added,
zeynep tufekciVerified account @zeynepFor the@nytimes, I wrote about why health authorities telling people they didn't need masks, and, besides they wouldn't wear them right, misfired and maybe even fueled hoarding. There will be many painful truths, and we need to learn to talk about them. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opinion/coronavirus-face-masks.html … pic.twitter.com/vBhEbS2rJkShow this thread7 replies 27 retweets 77 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted miroirdufou
Yep. Part of the reason that the pandemic has engulfed Europe, and is now creeping up in the United States is the authorities *and* a substantial chunks of "credible" media failed us. It's a terrible situation. Let's not pretend otherwise.https://twitter.com/miroirdufou/status/1240670344580603904 …
zeynep tufekci added,
miroirdufou @miroirdufouReplying to @zeynepIn the UK, the government picked a strategy that anyone with basic mathematical ability and a bit of common sense could see was insanely dangerous. It was absolutely necessary to be able to contest it. https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/coronavirus-uk-strategy-deaths …5 replies 38 retweets 88 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted zeynep tufekci
Here's my January 29 thread. By then, we knew what we needed to know to IMMEDIATELY act. We knew "what about the flu" was plain stupid—but many in media kept telling us that. We knew of asymptomatic transmission—thus universal mask wearing was smart. Yet.https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1222652819179634688 …
zeynep tufekci added,
zeynep tufekciVerified account @zeynepSignificant#nCoV2019 paper *just* out at@NEJM. Bad news, which we kinda knew, is there is sustained human-to-human transmission. Goodish news: R0 estimate is 2.2, lower than SARS. But won't be easier to contain because 2020 is more connected than 2003. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001316 …Show this thread2 replies 28 retweets 68 likesShow this thread -
January 29. China swung from denial and censorship to *massive* action. NEJM paper comes out with everything we need to know. For the next month, Western governments practically sit on their hands, pundits lecture us about the flu, and CDC/WHO says don't wear masks. Yeah, angry.pic.twitter.com/reQFIbzjAw
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Replying to @zeynep
Because everyone hoarded the masks, now Doctors and Nurses are asked to use bandanas instead of masks by CDC! How can they care for patients without masks - they are reusing disposable masks. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/hospitals-coronavirus-ppe-shortage.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage …
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