Thread by @doc_gero

The @nytimes’ @zeynep has long blocked me because frankly, I’ve been beyond brutal in my criticism of her - & rightfully so.

Since then, along with multiple excellent articles by @thackerpd, @michaelpsenger, & @KelleyKga, she’s been fully & unflatteringly exposed.

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Since then, @zeynep, w/ zero formal training or experience in the biomedical science she’s set her sights on yet another area where she can go ahead & cosplay as a biomedical scientist - so-called “Long COVID” research.

Her current feed is littered with tweets like this:

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Her current dalliance is over what set of diagnostic criteria provides the greatest inter-rater reliability for diagnosing “Long COVID.”

A great problem for @zeynep, who has training in statistics, but wouldn’t recognize an valid medical illness if it hit her in the head.

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It’s fine to have high inter-rate reliability for your diagnostic criteria set, but it puts the cart before the horse.

There’s still no good evidence that LC is a clinical entity that’s distinct from good-old-fashioned postviral illness occasionally seen in colds & flu.

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Either way, I think @zeynep hates being out of the limelight - I found this on her timeline & it made me think she missed being the center of attention when she & her #masks4all co-conspirator, @jeremyphoward, mask-trolled the world.

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This is her MO - leveraging her dual-role status as a supposed scholar & scientist (even though she only has relevant training & experience in sociology & computer science) when it suits her, & then her status as a journalist when it suits her. You can never pin her down.

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Let’s see if it works.

Maybe just like how she single-handedly trolled the @CDCgov into reversing course on masks, she can usher in yet another giant gusher of money on the “Long COVID” grift - which, like masks, she has no actual learned perspective on- she’s a pretender.

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Anyways, if you like my tweets bagging on crappy excuses for “SciComm” journalists from @nytimes like @zeynep, let me know. Pictured below is my recent article on her.

Also check out the other articles I’ve written (accessible from the link on my profile page).

Thanks!

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