Misinformation alert. The outbreak is already dated to November, so October cases are not implausible *but* that paper has so many problems and so much hand-waving that it should not be cited, let alone made into news articles.https://twitter.com/borzou/status/1270250085084016641 …
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted zeynep tufekci
I pointed out a few issues here. I don't mind the method (2003 SARS was identified partly due to online rumor tracking) but folks, hang on before making things into big news articles. Ask around. The paper is very short and will likely evolve.. a lot.https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1270347472246919172 …
zeynep tufekci added,
zeynep tufekciVerified account @zeynepReplying to @chris_bailThis paper is not showing that at all, tbh. Diarrhea searches in August aren't proof for COVID. "(GI) symptoms are a unique feature of COVID19" is not accurate. Hospital parking lot increases do not indicate COVID. I read the paper and had to duck from all the hand-waving.2 replies 10 retweets 40 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Bastian Purrer 🧢
Oh, wow. If true, this is nuts. I mean, the preprint paper is citing "Global Times" to support their assertion the market may not be the source of the virus. Internet searches and satellite data is fine to use, but there is no "top story" here. *headdesk*https://twitter.com/bastianpurrer/status/1270396180296597504 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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We already have an earliest known case of mid-November. October cases are thus of course plausible. But there is no finding here. Nothing to report yet. *shouts into the void*
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Look, reporting from preprints is fine, and there has been many good ones, but you really have to do the legwork and not rush, especially if the claim is very bold and consequential. Watch the caveats. Ask skeptical questions. Wait. Let papers evolve. *disappears into the void*
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted Lena (Mimi) 🏠
This is not evidence at all! We have had antibody studies that show only a third of people who had genuine strong suspicion that they had COVID (their doctor thought so; they lived with COVID positive person) in *February* actually had COVID.https://twitter.com/athletespw/status/1270402000522489861 …
zeynep tufekci added,
Lena (Mimi) 🏠 @athletespwReplying to @zeynepAs I said, many athletes who were at the Military Games in Wuhan at end of October had symptoms similar to Covid19-symptoms. Here is an Italian article from a known paper https://www.corriere.it/sport/20_maggio_07/coronavirus-wuhan-quei-mondiali-militari-atleti-tornati-cina-quelle-strane-febbri-novembre-8924b39a-9037-11ea-b981-878bbbd902eb.shtml … To say "there were no Covid19-cases before mid-November" seems at least bold.3 replies 4 retweets 38 likesShow this thread -
zeynep tufekci Retweeted
Please also check this thread on the alleged early COVID wave. The curve fitting is reliant on maybe two days? Spike in parking in one hospital for two days? Could be anything. (I hope reviewers notice this). Meanwhile, very very thin story has gone viral. https://twitter.com/crushspread/status/1270570534581878784 …
zeynep tufekci added,
This Tweet is unavailable.1 reply 6 retweets 16 likesShow this thread -
Also note that if there was indeed a major wave of COVID in China in August 2019 (thin thin claim based just on searches for "diarrhea" but not anything respiratory but okay), there would be a lot of *export* of the disease, which we would be able to confirm via antibody testing.
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Replying to @crushspread
I'm just being as generous as possible. Under the best interpretation I can muster, there is nothing here. I otherwise like such methods! But so many news outlets have run with it. People with the right credentials sometimes believe their own just-so stories. Human.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted Will Ma
Oh my wow. I hope the authors take it down. I mean, it's a preprint, and they got a lot of good feedback. People get misled and go down such tunnels, and walking stuff back would be laudable. Though the damage is already extensive.https://twitter.com/WillMaStat/status/1270850256121540608 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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