What about the flu, simplistic CFR/R0 discussions, don't panic, don't overreact, travel bans don't work, this effects the elderly like flu... Heard that so much in February. Now children are being denied surgery. 
This was predictable *and* predicted. https://twitter.com/ColumbiaSurgery/status/1243204604382400513 …
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted
Of course. This is true. Linking to another good piece to understand this failure. The warnings were seen as alarmism, and all alarmism was equated with disinformation. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/why-was-it-so-hard-to-raise-the-alarm-on-coronavirus.html … https://twitter.com/scribandotcom/status/1243567094949498881 …
zeynep tufekci added,
This Tweet is unavailable.5 replies 15 retweets 76 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Tom Winter
Yeah but what about the flu? This is why its was never, ever appropriate to compare it with the flu. If you overwhelm the system more people will die of.. the flu. And strep throat. And everything else. And we knew this was coming early Feb by latest.
https://twitter.com/tom_winter/status/1243613770854928389 …zeynep tufekci added,
Tom WinterVerified account @Tom_WinterNBC News: “The medical call volume for EMS in New York City over the past three days is the largest in our history”, says Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Frank Dwyer. FDNY is URGING New Yorkers not to call unless they are having a heart issue or trouble breathing.Show this thread2 replies 13 retweets 72 likesShow this thread -
From February 1st, me trying to ask people to stop flu comparisons.
(Screenshot, I’m not encouraging pileups here). I’m not blaming individuals, this was a widespread sentiment.pic.twitter.com/3clGIJnVyM
2 replies 18 retweets 95 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Kelsey Piper
Please don’t pile on but do read this honest thread from a Vox journalist who warned her family but didn’t feel comfortable sounding the alarm publicly. The public message was to falsely reassure. This kind of reflection is important—and hard. Thank you!https://twitter.com/kelseytuoc/status/1243301678301888512 …
zeynep tufekci added,
Kelsey PiperVerified account @KelseyTuocOne thing I've struggled with personally - I told my family in early February that we should expect the virus to hit here and should buy what we'd need and plan to soon stop leaving our home. I wasn't that direct in a public article for three more weeks. Why not?Show this thread4 replies 43 retweets 148 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Jay Rosen
Many weeks after my my mask-oped, finally seeing accurate pieces on masks. Why did it take so long? Why not before? My piece on media errors/complacency is part of the picture. Still too much herding and circling the wagons—and resistance to reflection.https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/1242639141873111041 …
zeynep tufekci added,
Jay RosenVerified account @jayrosen_nyuTo be informed what is required? Information, right? I mean, what else would it be? Well, one of the strange things about this situation is that to be informed what you need is imagination— even more than information. Best explainer I have seen about this: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/03/what-really-doomed-americas-coronavirus-response/608596/ …4 replies 29 retweets 91 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted David Isaacson
I wrote this in late February—there still wasn't any helpful pieces on why we needed to flatten the curve! Late February! Why not? (Can't find traditional media pieces before mine who explained the term—the phrase isn't mine, of course, it's well-known).https://twitter.com/writesaacson/status/1245336551292375040 …
zeynep tufekci added,
David Isaacson @writesaacsonOkay, one more: it took a while for "flattening the curve" to enter the vernacular.@zeynep, in this@sciam blog on Feb 27, was one of the first to advise Americans to prepare to "stay home for two or three weeks, going out as little as possible." https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/preparing-for-coronavirus-to-strike-the-u-s/ … /8Show this thread4 replies 11 retweets 55 likesShow this thread -
Yesterday, I commented on something tech, and someone was like, what do you have to do with tech? Lol! I've been pandemic writing for months. He had no idea I do tech. I didn't want to write "flatten the curve" or "we need masks" pieces. But people who should and could weren't.
2 replies 5 retweets 123 likesShow this thread -
Forget reflection, I got weird pushback.
@NateSilver538 was so mad about me writing about the complacent/lagging media message that he caricatured my position beyond recognition and told me to "sit this one out". Yet, I'll say it again: there should be a reckoning & hasn't been.12 replies 19 retweets 203 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @zeynep @NateSilver538
Paul Crowley Retweeted Nate Silver
This is the tweet by
@NateSilver538 that@zeynep is referring to:https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1243404943983169544 …Paul Crowley added,
Nate SilverVerified account @NateSilver538I do **plenty** of media criticism when warranted and there are questions to ask about coronavirus coverage but if your take right now is "actually, this is the media's fault as much as the government's" then you should probably sit this story out.Show this thread1 reply 0 retweets 4 likes
Yeah, it is utter and complete misrepresentation of my position, and I'm gonna go with it was a good thing I did not sit this story out as instructed haha. He won't correct. I'm always amazed by how thin-skinned and unable to admit error some people can be. 
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