As if the coronavirus panic and hysteria weren’t already insane, people deliberately spreading fake stories to inspire even more fear for clicks and taps seem to be all over social media. Why do that? People are scared enough, and with some state governments shutting down restaurants and bars, the last thing we need is panic peddlers making crap up to make things worse.
Carl T. Bergstrom, a professor of Biology from the University of Washington, wrote about a made-up story in a pretty amazing thread that illustrates how important it is to ask questions and push back if and when something seems off:
Well, that was an exciting afternoon for #COVID19 #coronavirus #disinformation.
We had a panic-inducing thread about complete breakdown of the health system in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/sci99Yk0Oa
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Wow, that sounds really really scary out of Seattle, right?
It was based on a second-hand account from an unnamed physician at an unnamed Seattle-area hospital.
When I contacted the author of the thread, he was not forthcoming with any details about where this was happening or who the source was.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Remember what we said about nameless, faceless experts or sources?
The story followed a common disinformation playbook, mixing elements of truth with falsehood, tracking plausible narratives. We've seen a number such threads claiming dire conditions that turned out to be inaccurate.
I asked for confirmation or refutation: pic.twitter.com/4x3m0ffIP3
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Boom.
And guess what … nobody confirmed.
Plenty of health professionals from the Seattle area did dispute the claim though.
Several Seattle-area MDs and other health professionals disputed the account. No one confirmed.
I can see why they didn't want to go too public about it—since questioning the story I've been slammed with all sorts of vitriol and libel. As I expected to be.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Subsequently the original author tried to walk back the post. pic.twitter.com/OUqZNh0hp5
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Of course.
And now he has deleted the entire thread. (Which, on social media, is the right thing to do, otherwise it continues to spread. Thank you, OP) pic.twitter.com/aTJhOWa2XZ
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
Now, why oh why would he delete his entire thread? Aren’t we teetering on the precipice of even worse destruction? Hrm.
This is not the first time we've seen something like this. A similar thread a couple of days ago https://t.co/hgQObtIJs0
was also walked back by its physician-authorhttps://t.co/N2SiX4422S
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
But not before it terrified thousands of people.
Lots of lessons here.
May be the most important is that if the scariest, most dramatic version of events is coming from unnamed second-hand sources, and named verifiable sources are giving more tempered reports—be skeptical of the alarmist account.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
This. ^
I'm exhausted. This sort of thing takes a huge mental and emotional toll—because it matters, and because you get hit with a torrent of hatred for your efforts. Please help me fight #disinformation on #COVID19 #coronavirus.
The virus is more than formidable enough on its own.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) March 16, 2020
It’s been interesting, watching how angry people get at anyone trying to calm things down and questioning any sort of panic-inducing narrative.
Be safe.
Be cautious.
Question everything.
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