Misinformation on matters of public health kills people.
This is what happened when tobacco companies denied or downplayed the dangers of smoking.
This is what’s happening today, as unvaccinated people struggle for breath in intensive care units.
Thread/
This is what happened when tobacco companies denied or downplayed the dangers of smoking.
This is what’s happening today, as unvaccinated people struggle for breath in intensive care units.
Thread/
Disease control measures are matters of political choice, and it is entirely legitimate to debate them. We can argue over how best to balance freedom from the disease with freedom from the disruptions and curtailments used to contain it.
But we must do so without spreading misinformation. False claims, ranging from “the virus is a hoax” to “the vaccines are untested” or “the vaccines are more dangerous than the disease”, are lethal. Those who spread them contribute to the deaths of others.
By all means, let’s argue about how best to deal with this difficult and dangerous virus, whose mutations and transmission patterns constantly throw up fresh challenges. Let’s argue about the balance of harms. But let’s do so on the basis of the best possible evidence.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
