For people thinking this is implausible; China had ventilation on its radar back in January. As did Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, etc. It's *our* public health authorities & the WHO that's been way behind on this issue. Very plausible that Xi communicated such basics to Trump.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted
Who knows? That's not Woodward's decision to make. The public isn't a bunch of toddlers whose reactions are to be pre-judged and managed—as it was done with masks and also with the airborne issue. It was on Woodward to share these important revelations. https://twitter.com/Alagai/status/1303750709825998850 …
zeynep tufekci added,
This Tweet is unavailable.9 replies 68 retweets 488 likesShow this thread -
I'm going to go with Woodward could live with his fourteenth best-selling book having fewer scoops in September of 2020. https://twitter.com/samuelt22223/status/1303751811816357892 …pic.twitter.com/fNNnMEF2vW
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Woodward has Trump on tape in February, lucidly recounting basic facts, including severity & airborne transmission, that he was told by Xi. People who say it wouldn't have mattered: you don't know that. Savvy cynicism isn't politics; it's self-justification for paralysis.
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I find this argument baffling. This isn't politics. This is giving up. "Nothing would work, they would spin, no point in releasing information, he'd claim a hoax" etc. etc. Yes, nothing will work if people think and act like nothing will work. https://twitter.com/Alagai/status/1303751365076942848 …pic.twitter.com/y6rvtgCIdI
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People have forgotten the media environment in February. I was begging journalists to take this seriously, being lectured that we should worry about the flu instead—and top newspapers were publishing articles saying we should continue traveling and masks were just superstition.
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People are telling me that everyone knew all this in February. I wish! After much frustration, I wrote an article at the end of February on the need to get ready for the coming pandemic. As far as I can tell, it's the first mainstream mention of the need for "flatting the curve."
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So, no, it's just not true that "everyone knew" in February. It was a month of complacency and/or false messaging. Do people forget what happened this quickly? Yes, I'm frustrated that Woodward had Trump on tape, lucidly stating correct and crucial information, and sat on it.
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Replying to @zeynep
Remembering the last time I saw my co-workers in mid-March and their dominant perspective was that it'll blow over in a week or two, *if* it reaches where we were.
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Replying to @ide_lol_ogy @zeynep
Also, I should add that I found your February article useful and orienting, until that point I was living in a generalized haze of anxiety over it.
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