I am an infrequent diarist at best. What I am is a skeptic. The way I operate; if a claim requires evidence and none can be provided it must be dismissed until verified. That is just good science.
I have been here on Kos, first as a lurker beginning in 2002, then as a member in 2004. One of the reasons I keep coming back...this site in unapologetically fact-based. Even when the facts do not support our ideology, we face the facts. We police our own community with that in mind.
The trend I am seeing now troubles me.
The COVID-19 bullshit is flying. I have seen posts all over social media making various claims about everything from how to avoid catching the virus to what is in the stimulus package to how a political party worked with the Chinese to engineer the virus to make political opponents look bad…pick a country…the rumor is there. It is all bullshit. And now the bullshit has made it to Kos. I have seen several posts making life or death claims with no supporting evidence.
Here are some tips for identifying bullshit claims.
- Assume the claim is false until verified.
- Verify the source. A claim without a verifiable source is useless and possibly dangerous.
- If the information did not come from the original, reliable source…
- ”my uncle knows a guy who was a respiratory expert”
- “I got an email from this institution, here is a cut and paste of the information with no link or email address”
- If the information you are considering sharing is this or similar, find the original source. If the original source is not verifiable or not a reputable institution, assume it is a hoax and possibly dangerous.
If you want to share useful information…and we all do, then seek out reputable, verifiable sources and share that information.
Here some advice from Johns Hopkins Medicine on how to spot bullshit…
How can you spot a rumor?
- When evaluating information you find on social media or other outlets, it is important to follow these guidelines:
- Use trusted sources, such as official government or health care websites and social media channels.
- Evaluate other information from the source, including links and sources, to see if it appears reliable.
- Search other credible resources to see if they are sharing similar information.
People, we are in unprecedented times. We are in a place where bad information can get people killed...lots of people. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but it is the flat-out truth.
Be a skeptic. Save lives.