Okay right here we have a great example of misinformation in action. The headline makes you think that thirty people ate disinfectant in New York as a direct result of the president telling them to. Yet click through and it’s a different story (thread) https://twitter.com/NYDailyNews/status/1253867340829253637

Last year in the same 18 hour period, 13 people reported ingesting household cleaners. So, already we’re down from 30 to “17 more than normal.”

Then you realize, *no one* in the article has actually been confirmed as having *intentionally* ingesting anything!

Nowhere in the article is it mentioned why or how the 30 people ingested disinfectant. it could be accidental inhalation, young kids getting at the bleach under the sink. We don’t know because the article doesn’t say.

What is the average daily # of ppl ingesting disinfectant in NYC? What has it been since COVID started? Has it maybe gone up because people are more vigilant about cleaning their homes in general? We don’t know because the article doesn’t say.

All we know is that 17 more people were exposed to disinfectant than in same time frame a YEAR ago. But because of the headline, we are lead to assume that Trump’s comments made 30 people drink bleach in NYC. There is no evidence this is true. None. Zero.

And yet, this article will no doubt blow up in liberal circles and I’ll be hearing this misinformation spread around for weeks because it fits into our narrative and most of us don’t read past the headline (usually I don’t either!)

I know it’s easy to sneer at the phrase “fake news” but this is fake fucking news. And we need to be vigilant about spotting it and calling it out, ESPECIALLY when it tells us something that confirms our own biases and beliefs. Anyway here endeth the rant. Stay safe out there!