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Why smart people believe coronavirus myths https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200406-why-smart-people-believe-coronavirus-myths?ocid=ww.social.link.twitter via @BBC_Future
It is a sad truth that any health crisis will spawn its own pandemic of misinformation.
Black Death: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-the-black-death-spread-of-misinformation-and-xenophobia-shows-we-havent-learned-from-our-past-132802
Black Death: https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-the-black-death-spread-of-misinformation-and-xenophobia-shows-we-havent-learned-from-our-past-132802
80s⇢00s
dangerous lies about AIDS:
From the belief that HIV was made in a govt lab to the idea that the HIV tests were unreliable, that it could be treated w goat’s milk—nyet.
dangerous lies about AIDS:
From the belief that HIV was made in a govt lab to the idea that the HIV tests were unreliable, that it could be treated w goat’s milk—nyet.
Now, we are seeing a fresh inundation of fake news – this time around the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-51931394
From Facebook to WhatsApp, frequently shared misinformation include everything from what caused the outbreak to how you can prevent becoming ill.
From Facebook to WhatsApp, frequently shared misinformation include everything from what caused the outbreak to how you can prevent becoming ill.
BBC Future debunked several claims including:
① misinformation surrounding whether or not sunshine / UV light has any effect on #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200327-can-you-kill-coronavirus-with-uv-light
① misinformation surrounding whether or not sunshine / UV light has any effect on #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200327-can-you-kill-coronavirus-with-uv-light
BBC Future debunked
② misinformation around warm weather effects on #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200323-coronavirus-will-hot-weather-kill-covid-19
② misinformation around warm weather effects on #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200323-coronavirus-will-hot-weather-kill-covid-19
BBC Future debunked
③ misinformation around drinking water affecting #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200319-covid-19-will-drinking-water-keep-you-safe-from-coronavirus
③ misinformation around drinking water affecting #SARS_CoV_2 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200319-covid-19-will-drinking-water-keep-you-safe-from-coronavirus
The BBC’s Reality Check team checks popular coronavirus claims here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/reality_check
+ the World Health Organization is keeping a myth-busting page regularly updated too.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/reality_check+ the World Health Organization is keeping a myth-busting page regularly updated too.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters
At worst, the ideas themselves are harmful.
A recent report from one province in Iran found that MORE people had DIED from DRINKING INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH ALCOHOL, based on a FALSE CLAIM that it could protect you from #COVID19, than from the virus itself.
A recent report from one province in Iran found that MORE people had DIED from DRINKING INDUSTRIAL-STRENGTH ALCOHOL, based on a FALSE CLAIM that it could protect you from #COVID19, than from the virus itself.
Even innocuous ideas can lure you into a false sense of security, discouraging you from adhering to government guidelines, and eroding trust in health experts & officials.
And there’s evidence these ideas are sticking.
And there’s evidence these ideas are sticking.
One poll by YouGov and the Economist in March 2020 found
% of Americans believed the #COVID19 crisis was a hoax
(gee now I wonder why that is
)
% believed the epidemic might be man-made
https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/1ghnpqhhpu/econToplines.pdf
% of Americans believed the #COVID19 crisis was a hoax
(gee now I wonder why that is
)% believed the epidemic might be man-made
https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/1ghnpqhhpu/econToplines.pdf
Though you might hope that greater brainpower or education would help us to tell fact from fiction, unfortunately many educated people falling for this dangerous dis/misinformation.
Intelligent people can also be dumb.
Intelligent people can also be dumb.
Ex: Kelly Brogan:
☑︎ MIT grad
☑︎ studied psychiatry at Cornell
☒ major conspiracy theorist
☒ shuns clear evidence of #SARS_CoV_2 danger in China & Italy
☒ Questioned basic tenets of germ theory itself while endorsing pseudoscientific ideas. http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/germtheory
☑︎ MIT grad
☑︎ studied psychiatry at Cornell
☒ major conspiracy theorist
☒ shuns clear evidence of #SARS_CoV_2 danger in China & Italy
☒ Questioned basic tenets of germ theory itself while endorsing pseudoscientific ideas. http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/germtheory
World leaders – who you would hope to have better judgement 
when it comes to misinformation — have been guilty of:
spreading inaccurate info about risk of #SARS_CoV_2
promoting unproven, potentially harmful remedies https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52106321
when it comes to misinformation — have been guilty of:spreading inaccurate info about risk of #SARS_CoV_2promoting unproven, potentially harmful remedies https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52106321
Psychologists are already studying this phenomenon.
And what they find might suggest new ways to protect ourselves from lies and help stem the spread of this misinformation and foolish behavior.
Woohoo!
And what they find might suggest new ways to protect ourselves from lies and help stem the spread of this misinformation and foolish behavior.
Woohoo!
Information overloadPart of the problem arises from the nature of the messages themselves.
We are bombarded with information all day, every day, and we therefore often rely on our intuition to decide whether something is accurate.
Purveyors of disinfo can make their message feel “truthy” through a few simple tricks, which discourages us from applying critical thinking – checking the veracity of its source.
As the authors of one paper put it: “When thoughts flow smoothly, people nod along.”
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/634511
#Coronavirus #disinformation
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/634511
#Coronavirus #disinformation
Eryn Newman at Australian National University, for instance, has shown that the simple presence of an image alongside a statement increases our trust in its accuracy – even if it is only tangentially related to the claim. https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-012-0292-0
A generic image of a virus w a claim may offer no proof, but it helps us visualize the general scenario.
We take that “processing fluency” as a sign that the claim is true.
The mere presence of an image alongside a statement increases our trust in its accuracy
We take that “processing fluency” as a sign that the claim is true.
The mere presence of an image alongside a statement increases our trust in its accuracy
For similar reasons, misinformation will include descriptive language or vivid personal stories.
It will also feature just enough familiar facts or figures – such as mentioning the name of a recognized medical body – to make the lie within feel convincing, allowing it to tether itself to our previous knowledge.
Even the simple repetition of a statement – whether the same text, or over multiple messages – can increase the “truthiness” by increasing feelings of familiarity, which we mistake for factual accuracy.
Repetition = Brain glue
Repetition = Brain glue
