What nonsense! This is a transparent attempt to stoke fears and spread misinformation. This is a series of cards developed all attacking gene drive technologies. This group is ideologically hostile toward genetic technologies. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
They made up their mind about gene drive, then looked for reasons to be afraid of it. Sincere concern would come first, then opposition to the technology would come after. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
Furthermore the concerns they’ve raised are vague because they cannot substantiate them. Let’s have a look at each one. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
They named the mosquito “PR Buzz Mosquito”. This reflects a choice to attack outreach attempts, which they characterize as “PR”, instead of the technology. Outreach is a difficult thing to do without disinformation, so it is strategic to attack this. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
They put her in a business suit apparently to make her look like she’s part of a “big corporation”. People irrationally fear big corporations because “they’re all corrupt and all just want to make money because capitalism is bad”. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
This is simply not true. Some corporations have notably done some terrible things, but people working at corporations are ordinary people, many of them more trustworthy than the people developing deliberately misleading playing cards. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
If you assume all corporations are bad without evidence of wrongdoing, you are making an ideological decision to think that. Again, each corporation is different and their motivations should be understood accordingly. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
What’s ridiculous about conflating these mosquitoes with corporations is they do not list a corporation in their “developed by” on the playing card. They list Target Malaria (*non-profit* research consortium), #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
.@DARPA (a US military research agency that rightly wants to better understand an emerging biotechnology because *every technology has a dual use*), and @UCRiverside and @UCSanDiego (two public research universities). #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
No corporations there, and it seems reasonable research agencies would research something with an application that has incredible potential to save lives worldwide. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
They describe the technology’s potential as a “Hype claim”. “Hype” is meant to emphasize that the claim could never happen. Gene drive technologies are far from perfect, but their potential to specifically target pest insects is remarkable. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
Gene drive certainly has the capacity to reach the “hype claim”. Whether that capacity is reached, time will tell. The dismissive “reality” they present that “they likely won’t work” is pessimistic and doesn’t justify ending the pursuit of the possibility. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
More telling is the last line and the back of the card. It enters into a conspiratorial view of the world where there is a “cover up” of malicious intent behind gene drives. I would like to see a single piece of evidence supporting this fantasy. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
Without evidence they rely on the confirmation bias, fear of big corporations, and emotional language they’ve inserted into these cards to convince the reader. This is unfortunately very effective for disinformation. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
Question everything, particularly things that fit your worldview, and base your conclusions on evidence. Just because someone can pay a graphic designer to draw a mosquito in a suit doesn’t mean they are basing their claims in facts. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
This is unabashed disinformation and those involved should be ashamed. #SBSTTA2018 #SBSTTALive
