#musk #twitter #covid19 #misinformation #truthbetold
Musk ends a policy that Twitter formerly used to remove COVID-19 information that it considered misleading.
Oh my God, what are we going to do? You mean Twitter users are going to have to think for themselves?
***An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance***
@Pat
Avoiding that outright lies end up being the only information some people receives about matters of life and death is critically important. We can't expect everybody to have a solid understanding of science, same as we can't expect them knowing about any other aspect of human knowledge. Some can't, some don't like, some simply won't. And they should not have to pay for it with their lives.
You mean lies like these...
"There is a shortage of respirators in the Strategic National Stockpile, so everyone has to wear cloth masks instead."
"You don't need to wear a mask if you've been vaccinated."
"When you meet with your relatives this Thanksgiving (2022), just make sure you wash your hands before you hug and kiss them."
"The vaccine is 92% effective."
"The vaccine is the best method to fight COVID-19."
"China's zero COVID-19 policy isn't working."
and on and on...
Yes, those came from the COVID-19 task force or other expert physicians, spoken to the American public.
Okay, here's more context on these...
"There is a shortage of respirators in the Strategic National Stockpile, so everyone has to wear cloth masks instead."
- This statement was made by the CDC at the beginning of the epidemic in the US. The CDC manages the SNS. They know exactly how many respirators are in there. They flat-out lied when they said that there weren't enough.
If just 40% of the population had worn N95 respirators at the beginning of the pandemic, the epidemic would not have taken hold in the US. That's a fact.
"You don't need to wear a mask if you've been vaccinated."
- This was the exact advice from the CDC after the vaccines rolled out to the general public. If they knew that the 92% number was bogus and the vaccines didn't stop the spread of the virus, why would they tell people to take off their masks and cause more spread? Because they lied. They obviously wanted the pandemic to continue.
"When you meet with your relatives this Thanksgiving (2022), just make sure you wash your hands before you hug and kiss them."
- This was the advice from a physician on one of the major networks (NBC I think) giving advice to people just prior to this Thanksgiving.
"The vaccine is 92% effective."
- The effectiveness of every vaccine prior to the COVID-19 pandemic has been specified as a percentage of symptomatic illness. Now suddenly they change it and spec it based on hospitalization/deaths without mentioning that fact when they release the 92% number. They intentionally mislead Americans.
"The vaccine is the best method to fight COVID-19."
- That's the language they used. What does "best" mean? Best for Pfizer's stock price?
The most effective method to prevent the infection and spread of COVID-19 is a properly worn respirator. That's a fact. But I've never heard anyone from the CDC mention that fact. Ever.
"China's zero COVID-19 policy isn't working."
- Dr. Ashish Jha, the head of the WH COVID-19 Response Team said this on ABC's This Week program on Sunday. China has less than 1% of the death rate from the pandemic than the US has. The Zero Covid policy works at preventing unnecessary illness and death. Dr. Jha lied.
Those aren't misstatements or statements made with incomplete information or evolving scientific data. They are lies. The people making them knew they were false when they made them.
Regarding "filters" on Twitter, who decides what to filter? I suspect it was the biggest advertisers on the platform who called the shots as to what was "filtered".
@Pat
The beauty of propaganda of how praying on people’s emotions to potentially help their sanity.
Although lies, it could be questioned if the truth would have been just as effective or potentially even worse. Living in the constant state of fear or uncertainty can take a toll on ones immune system, thereby potentially adding more stress to the already crippling health system.
Definitely would agree that filtering messages are bad, though can also see the concern that opinions become facts.
It’s probably more a philosophical or ethical question of which way of ruling is best to keep the nation/region flourishing.
@jgg