A local news channel wrote a story saying ivermectin overdoses were straining Oklahoma hospitals, and then Rolling Stone, Newsweek, and others re-wrote it with no additional reporting. It was substantially wrong. Here's what happened.
Rolling Stone's article does not inspire a great deal of confidence that the magazine could locate Oklahoma on a map (image was of people in winter coats), let alone say something profound about its rural hospitals' current capacities.
It's not clear how vast the overcrowding problem is, but it is likely due to covid cases not poison cases. There were 500 reported ivermectin overdoses reported in the country this month. Oklahoma's 7-day covid hospitalization rate is 1,500. Clearly that's the problem!
The source for the poisonings-causing-hospital-strain statement appears to be a doctor, Jason McElyea. But here's the very, very important thing: At no point does he ever actually making this claim. KFOR, the local news site, just made it up. reason.com/2021/09/06/ive…
I reviewed all of McElyea's quotes, and he doesn't actually connect hospital overcrowding and ivermectin overdoses. As far as I can tell, this spin is supplied entirely by the local journalist, Katelyn Ogle (who did not respond to a request for comment).
I think this is instructive. A local journalist wanted to tell a story about ivermectin overdoses straining hospitals, cherry picked some quotes, and then the mainstream media ran wild with it.
Pandemic misinformation is not confined to the far-right fringes. You can encounter it on your local TV station, and in the pages of magazines and newspapers. reason.com/2021/09/06/ive…
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Okay, this is kind of important. The problem with AOC and the met gala wasn't the eat-the-rich dress, it's that the ruling class does not have to obey the pandemic restrictions they've forced on everyone else! reason.com/2021/09/15/met…
I understand that AOC can party with the wealthy while simultaneously advocating for higher taxes. Fine. But why does she get to do it maskless? No one else is allowed this privilege.
She said she is supporting keeping the museum open to the public. But when the public visits the museum, they are required to mask up and socially distance. 2-year-olds have to do this, AOC, Billie Eilish and Timothe Chalamet do not.
This has to be one of the most irresponsible New York Times articles in the paper's history. It casts doubt on booster shots, quoting an epidemiologist who says wearing masks forever is a better health intervention. reason.com/2021/08/18/cov…
Apoorva Mandavilli's pandemic articles have been among the most fear-driven and pro-restriction coverage anywhere in the media. Here she quotes an epidemiologist saying that there's not a huge need for booster shots, because why not just wear masks and avoid social gatherings?
This is ludicrous. Most normal people who are not NYT reporters or epidemiologists actually like to see faces and go to the bar! Getting a a shot once or twice a year is easier than eschewing basic human contact indefinitely.
Biden wants to get rid of Section 230 in order to force Facebook to censor more covid "misinformation." I hope this FINALLY disabuses Republicans of the notion that scrapping Section 230 would be good for conservative speech online. reason.com/2021/07/20/fac…
I have been saying this forever. Conservatives are basically like
The Capitol Police are opening up offices in the states, and will become an intelligence gathering agency like the FBI and NSA. This is a nightmare scenario, one that civil libertarians of all stripes should oppose. reason.com/2021/07/08/the…
What happened on January 6th was an odious spectacle. We should condemn the rioters and the ex-president who encouraged them. This does not mean the Capitol Police should be transformed into yet another domestic surveillance agency. reason.com/2021/07/08/the…
Trump's class action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are absurd. His attorneys will be laughed out of court at the first opportunity. reason.com/2021/07/07/tru…
The First Amendment protects private companies from the government, not the other way around.
You can't just say *I don't like how Facebook treated me therefore it is unconstitutional.* I'd be lying if I said the lawsuits' arguments are more sophisticated than that.