Small thread on why words are important, using @piersmorgan as an example

Here he misuses the words & #39;surges& #39; and & #39;spike& #39; to imply deaths are still accelerating. In actual fact it seems to be fattening, and infection rates are falling

So what& #39;s wrong with misusing words?

Words are important because the truth is important. Words like surge and spike put a particular emotional slant on the tweet - panic, anger, disgust. Piers then aims these emotions at the government.

It is of course fundamentally dishonest, but worse than that it erases context

And without context there& #39;s no way to judge if the UK government are doing well or badly. The emotion in the tweet means they MUST be doing badly. Right?

Now if you pull him or a follower up on his language, what will they say?

I& #39;ll tell you

They& #39;ll say "OH! So you DON& #39;T THINK that NINE HUNDRED DEATHS is HELLISH then?!"

Of course this is bollocks. Everyone is appalled. But it& #39;s another way of altering discourse based on emotion. If you act outraged and make an accusation like that, you don& #39;t have to tackle the point

The danger with this messaging from people with huge followings like him is that he elicits an emotional response in his followers rather than a logical one. And panicking people never make good decisions.

We need calm heads. Piers needs to use his platform more carefully.

Um, flattening