Read on Twitter
[suicide / mental health]
I opened Twitter to those “200% increase in suicide under lockdown” tweets doing the rounds again. This is a lie. Samaritans issued guidance that it doesn’t spread awareness it just puts people at risk. https://fullfact.org/online/suicide-200-percent/
I opened Twitter to those “200% increase in suicide under lockdown” tweets doing the rounds again. This is a lie. Samaritans issued guidance that it doesn’t spread awareness it just puts people at risk. https://fullfact.org/online/suicide-200-percent/
This lie started in the UK due to misreported call stats at SANE but it’s now going around US Twitter thanks to Mr Peanutbutter (lol). It’s not true and every suicide prevention charity can explain how it harms people. https://twitter.com/PFTompkins/status/1326792762163945472
The last time I pulled up a celebrity on this their obsessive fans came down on me and kept saying, “it raises awareness” despite experts and reality saying the opposite and emphasising the harm it does. It’s kind of fascinating.
The @samaritans are working with the Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab at The University of Glasgow and Scottish Association for Mental Health to understand the pandemic’s impact on mental health & wellbeing in the UK. It’a a nationally representative study on around 3,000 people.
Useful links if you want to learn more:
Media Guidelines from Samaritans https://media.samaritans.org/documents/Media_Guidelines_FINAL_v2_TABa8C6.pdf
The Lancet https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30484-3/fulltext
Guidance from International Association for Suicide Precention
https://www.iasp.info/pdf/2020_Briefing_Statement_Reporting_on_Suicide_During_COVID19.pdf
Media Guidelines from Samaritans https://media.samaritans.org/documents/Media_Guidelines_FINAL_v2_TABa8C6.pdf
The Lancet https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30484-3/fulltext
Guidance from International Association for Suicide Precention
https://www.iasp.info/pdf/2020_Briefing_Statement_Reporting_on_Suicide_During_COVID19.pdf
Btw, if you want to see how many blue tick accounts are sharing this lie you can search "200% suicide filter:verified". It's includes elected officials, professors of journalism, CBS correspondents and Bake Off winners.
When you look at the blue tick accounts there's a big gap between June 29th and Nov 11th in terms of who is sharing it (aside from one instance on Oct 10th). Blue ticks pick up again once Jenny Eclair posts on Nov 11 and Lord knows what is doing the rounds on FB, whatasapp etc.
None of verified accounts sharing this have anything like the following of @PFTompkins who has 2.5million followers
I get it. I once believed a fake Lana account saying she had 'lost' the then upcoming Norman Rockwell album bc she "tripped over her computer lead" & lost the file
I get it. I once believed a fake Lana account saying she had 'lost' the then upcoming Norman Rockwell album bc she "tripped over her computer lead" & lost the file
Anyway - God bless the @FullFact team. Show them love and throw money at them when you can https://fullfact.org/
Because he's a lovely dude, @PFTompkins has taken down the tweet and shared the Full Fact correction. 
(Now if anyone has Zach Braff's number...or the numbers of his 2 million folllowers
) https://twitter.com/PFTompkins/status/1326934594201870336?s=20
(Now if anyone has Zach Braff's number...or the numbers of his 2 million folllowers
) https://twitter.com/PFTompkins/status/1326934594201870336?s=20
This is issue has been covered well by @Anoosh_C
“There is evidence that alarmist, speculative pieces can heighten the risk of suicide" - Jacqui Morrissey, assistant director of research and influencing at @samaritans https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/11/suicide-rate-UK-pandemic-lockdown-corona-virus-covid
“There is evidence that alarmist, speculative pieces can heighten the risk of suicide" - Jacqui Morrissey, assistant director of research and influencing at @samaritans https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/11/suicide-rate-UK-pandemic-lockdown-corona-virus-covid
"The BBC online disinformation reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh calculated that it was tweeted 42,000 times in less than ten hours after the original tweet was posted" https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1277677246019493888?s=20
