DO THESE 4 THINGS BEFORE YOU SHARE THAT AWESOME ARTICLE YOU READ ON THE INTERNET...
DO THESE 4 THINGS BEFORE YOU SHARE THAT AWESOME ARTICLE YOU READ ON THE INTERNET...
The noise and confusion regarding COVID-19 seems to continue escalating and each day there are more and more articles interpreting data and research in confoundingly contrasting ways. It can be tempting to glom onto and share articles that support your point of view or that you simply wish to be true. Please, please, before you share something spend just a couple of minutes to evaluate these 4 things:
1. What is the source? Is the magazine or publication unbiased? Is the source factual? If not DON'T SHARE.
(This site is great for a quick check https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ )
2. Who is the author - is he or she an expert or a credentialed journalist? Be immediately skeptical of any YouTube "expert" broadcasting from his/her basement, drawing charts or assembling bits and pieces of various stories to support their theories. Google the person to ascertain if he or she is credible. Be skeptical of "experts" who have been shunned, disbarred, had their licenses removed or have an axe to grind. Rashid Buttar is a great example. If the source is not credible, DON'T SHARE.
3. Are there multiple sources that corroborate the story? Does a quick check of the purported facts square up? Like many people, I love the idea that somewhere, someone has "finally figured it all out" and if the story passes #1 and #2 above, I'll read it even if there are not other sources. However, 99% of the time, these lone sources and stories turn out to be nonsense. Here's a popular story current swirling around the internet that turns out to be 100% pure bunk. 1) I read it on Asia Times - relatively unbiased, scores high on factual reporting (most other sources are far right wing and score low on fact checking though like the Telegraph) 2) It is by an Israeli professor - sounds legit 3) No one else is purporting his thesis - that in 70 days the illness magically disappears all around the world... quick fact check - fundamentally untrue, the active case rate here in the USA is still climbing steeply on day 69, and another example he gives is Singapore, where, more than 70 days in, they are growing exponentially.
https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/israeli-professor-offers-alternate-coronavirus-prediction/
*See below for a full debunking. If there are not multiple sources and if facts don't add up, DON'T SHARE.
4. Does the author or speaker provide documented references and sources? Be very skeptical when anyone says, "experts say" or "multiple sources confirm" without actually footnoting and naming those sources. If legitimate sources are not documented, DON'T SHARE.
CONCLUSION: Sharing specious or misinformed or inaccurate information muddies the waters and creates more anxiety and confusion. Before you share "consider the source!"
*Here's a quick debunk of the "70 days" theory: I certainly wish this were true but it is not. I have no idea how this was published or why but a quick check of his suppositions - none of them are true or right. This is not helpful information, it is misinformation.
It reminds of a time where I was listening to a weather report predicting a warm sunny day even as I looked out the window at a blizzard. All we have to do is look at the numbers in the USA 69 days into the pandemic... pretty sure there is exactly no chance of it "magically disappearing" by tomorrow and in fact our active cases are still growing rapidly. Yes, we have bent the curve on the logarithmic graph, but it is still growing exponentially and absolutely not going to disappear.
It seems like he looked at S. Korea, who implemented an incredible shut down when they only had a few cases, clamped down hard well ahead of the virulent growth curve, and then tested and traced every case with huge armies of trackers and analysts, and hence were able to contain the illness after about 70 days.
Why or how he assumes that no efforts happened or were needed is mind-boggling. And his explanation is even more telling: "I have no explanation."
Finally, he uses Singapore as an example. Did he even look at their numbers? Attached below is their exponential growth curve, actually steepening 70 days in, right when it is supposed to disappear...
