#combating misinformation

According to the WHO, there's a case fatality rate (CFR) of 54%. A case fatality rate is simply the percentage of deaths out of the number of *confirmed* cases. Since January 1 2003 until November 2024 there were only 261 total cases recorded by the WHO in the entire world, and out of those cases, 142 were fatal. Notice the very small sample size and the fact that these are only confirmed cases. In most people, bird flu is indistinguishable from any other cold or flu or even asymptomatic, so they *wouldn't be tested*. There hasn't been a widespread testing initiative for bird flu yet, so we don't actually know the data of how many people *actually* have it. We only know the cases of people with infections that were severe and unique enough that doctors thought to test them specifically for bird flu. A case fatality rate is *not* a prognosis.

Bird flu *is* serious. And you definitely should be careful, especially if you make contact with wild or domestic outdoor birds (this means that if you have a chicken coop or dovecote or something similar, even if it's only a few outdoor birds, you need to be careful), but we really don't need to be fear-mongering and making people think that they have an over 50% chance of dying if they get it. Misinformation from all sides is bad.

Actual reports about the virus:

The American education system really did the country a disservice with how they taught people to write "persuasively" and how to write in a "formal" and "academic" style. I'm sure many people remember being instructed to avoid using phrases such as "I think," "In my opinion," I believe," etc. I personally remember being specifically instructed to state my opinions as if they were fact when writing a persuasive essay or speech for standardized testing.

The thing is, opinions are not facts, and most people struggle to recognize that in multiple harmful ways. "A lie repeated" doesn't just apply to propaganda, it applies to personal beliefs as well. The more people state something as fact, the more they become personally convinced of its truth.

Opinions become statements become truths become foundational aspects of the self.

Its known that attacking someone's beliefs is more likely to entrench them further into those beliefs than to draw them out. An attack on a belief is an attack on the self, and must be defended against. When opinions are treated as truths everything becomes more extreme.

I feel like this is a pretty well understood problem, but it's not the one that inspired this post. This style of writing and thinking contributes dangerously to the spread of misinformation. People don't generally start their posts and comments with "It is my personal belief..." We've been taught that this is redundant; if you didn't believe it, you wouldn't be saying it.

But this isn't occurring in a vacuum. These aren't graded papers. People are reading your opinions, your feelings, presented as fact. Hyperbole and context get lost in the telephone game of retweets, reblogs, and reposts. We are at the most risk when these are things we agree with, things that fit with our world view. We hit like and share and accept the statements made by another as truth.

We lose an aspect of the process that wasn't drilled as heavily as "don't use first person." Every claim and statement made should be backed by a source. Hardly anyone does that, these aren't graded posts after all, and the statement is true isn't it? Isn't that enough?

I'd expect that for many this is an unconscious style of writing, it is habit engrained by years of schooling. While writing this I personally had to be conscious of my phrasing because these are just my thoughts. They are drawn from things I have read and been exposed to over years of life, they are drawn from my experiences. I have no sources, but these thoughts ring true to me.

Hey folks, I’m a Public Health grad student and want to know what information and misinformation is going around social media regarding novel coronavirus (2019-nCov)

You all know how important I think it is to combat misinformation, and there are some unsettling sentiments and arguments I've come across on this site (and others) regarding the Hamas attack on October 7th. I think it is one of my duties as a citizen of this world and as someone who supports a free Palestinian people to help combat misinformation.

There are opportunists online claiming the attack did not happen or denying confirmed details of the attacks, like the number of dead, the paragliders, and whether or not they actually took hostages and how many hostages there were and are. They're suggesting the whole thing was "sensationalized" and "exaggerated" by the Israeli state and "Western" news outlets. This is patently false. The attack was very real and very bloody and very deadly.

Reuters took the time to properly verify video footage of the attacks across Southern Israel, where Hamas killed over 1,400 civilians and took some 200-250 people captive.

WARNING ⚠️ about the article and source below: it contains extremely graphic and disturbing videos and photos. Discretion is advised.

Al Jazeera and Reuters both broke down the attack nearly hour-by-hour and included maps, showing the breadth and length of the attack.