Thread by @apsmunro

So many examples of how twitter rewards, and amplifies extreme positions, which is unhelpful in nuanced debate

Masks are ESSENTIAL to stop the pandemic 😍
Masks are useless and HARMFUL😍

Masks could help, would be useful to study their impact and any potential drawbacks 🥱

1/6

This disease is AIRBORNE why are we denying it?😍
I can't get COVID-19 unless you SNEEZE in my mouth😍

There is a continuum and airborne transmission seems to occur, but much less frequently than droplet🥱

2/6

Children are disease AMPLIFIERS, close schools 😍
Children CANNOT spread this disease, open schools 😍

Children seem to transmit less readily than adults, but given high community infection rates opening schools might be difficult, but possible at low rates with IPC 🥱

3/6

Placebo RCTs are UNETHICAL in a pandemic, we must treat now😍
I'm not treating until I've seen a full, peer reviewed publication 😍

A press release by a non-conflicted party showing a huge effect size of a cheap, safe medicine should be enough to start treating 🥱

4/6

COVID-19 is the end of the world we're all going to DIE😍
COVID-19 is just the FLU😍

COVID-19 is a global crisis for health and the economy, we must try to act based on reason and empathy not fear mongering or denial 🥱

5/6

Try and state a nuanced version of any of the above, and someone will tell you that you actually have a much more polarised opinion, and will start arguing with that opinion, instead of what you actually believe

I love twitter, but this is tiresome

6/6