Share this page!

ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Twitter logo
Feb 15 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Beware of the fake news trap! 🕳

Last month we put out a series of Misinformer Tactics in collaboration with the amazing illustrator Jordan Collver (@JordanCollver).

Here is a recap of what to look out for 👇

🧵[1/7]

#ScienceUpFirst How lies spread. Learn to spot these 5 misinformer tactics.
Astroturf? It looks like real grass, but it’s fake.

Similarly, Astroturfing is a practice where a message *appears* to have authentic grassroots support… but is really operated by just a few individuals.

🧵[2/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

Most choices go beyond binary.

But misinformers present ideas as either/or. You either care about health or the economy. You wear a mask or you hate freedom!

False dichotomies are black and white. The reality is shades of grey.

🧵[3/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

Mystery novelists and misinformers alike use Red Herrings to steer you off course.

Red herrings can distract from the point at hand to redirect the conversation.

🧵[4/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

Let’s face it, most of us are biased towards things that appear “natural”. But many natural things can be really dangerous. Lily of the Valley, anyone?

The misinformer tactic of Appeal to Nature can lead us to some bad apples.

🧵[5/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

If the rooster doesn’t crow, will the sun still rise? 🐓

YES!

Watch out for the Causal Fallacy.

🧵[6/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

Knowing these tactics before you see them helps stop misinformation in its tracks!

There are a lot of different Misinformer Tactics and logical fallacies out there. Which ones should we cover next? 🤔

Let us know! 👇

🧵[7/7]

#ScienceUpFirst

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord

ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ScienceUpFirst

ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Feb 16
No vaccine is perfect. That includes the COVID-19 vaccines.

But they don’t need to be in order to save millions of lives.

A thread about transmission 👇

🧵 [1/11]

#ScienceUpFirst We keep hearing, “Vaccines ...
Transmission is the passing of a disease-causing pathogen (like a virus) from an infected person to someone else.

COVID-19 vaccines directly and indirectly reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

🧵 [2/11]

#ScienceUpFirst
COVID-19 vaccines can directly reduce transmission by stopping your body from passing on live copies of the virus.

Vaccines were good at interrupting transmission of the Alpha/Delta variants. How well they stop Omicron transmission is being studied.

🧵 [3/11]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 11 tweets
ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Feb 1
Got Omicron? You are not alone!

See our thread on what we know so far 👇

🧵 [1/11]

#ScienceUpFirst “I got Omicron, what’s next?” (What we know so far ab
Can I get infected with Omicron again?

Anecdotal reports find reinfections happening weeks apart. Experts expect it is possible to catch Omicron more than once. Scientists are currently assessing how often reinfections occur and who is at most risk.

🧵 [2/11]

#ScienceUpFirst
Though the relationship is not clearcut, several factors may influence reinfection:

How many exposures you have had (via vaccine 💉 or infection 🦠)

How recent your exposures are 📅

The severity of those exposures 🤒

If you're immunocompromised

🧵 [3/11]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 11 tweets
ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Jan 31
Saw some head-scratching data? 🤔

Understanding the Base Rate Fallacy can help you avoid jumping to the wrong conclusions. 👇

🧵[1/6]

#ScienceUpFirst Are you getting the full picture? A chart shows how COVID-19
How we communicate data influences how others will perceive it.

And let’s just say some graphs are better than others 👀

🧵[2/6]

#ScienceUpFirst People send us this graph A LOT as "proof" that va
For example, the pie chart above only gives raw hospitalization numbers, but does not give the base rate data (i.e. the number of people vaccinated in the whole population).

🧵[3/6]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 6 tweets
ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Jan 14
“Should I get Omicron and just get it over with?”

NOPE! 🙅‍♀️

We’ve heard this line of thinking from our friends and family. But we’re here to tell you that getting COVID-19 isn’t inevitable and now isn’t the time to throw our hands in the air.

🧵 [1/7]

#ScienceUpFirst Don't give up! COVID may feel inevitable, but don't rush out
Omicron spreads very easily, and hospitalizations are climbing.

Between Jan 3 and Jan 10, COVID-19 hospitalizations in Canada jumped from 4,113 to 6,926 and 290 more COVID-19 patients were admitted to an ICU (2).

🧵 [2/7]

#ScienceUpFirst A graph showing number of patients hospitalized across the m
We get that talking about “flattening the curve” gives serious 2020 déjà vu. 😵‍💫

But it’s truly what we need to do! Healthcare workers are dealing with record case numbers while severely short staffed (3, 4). Slowing the spread matters.

🧵 [3/7]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 7 tweets
ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Jan 14
Don’t underestimate “mild” - COVID-19 isn’t a chicken wing 🍗

There’s confusion around the severity of Omicron, let’s get into it 👇

🧵 [1/6]

#ScienceUpFirst Is Omicron “Mild”? ICUs filling up with COVID patients
Good news: there is evidence of less lung damage (1,2,3); and lower rates of hospitalization and death (4).

But, what’s mild for one can be severe for others. Plus, the number of Long COVID cases related to Omicron are not yet captured.

🧵 [2/6]

#ScienceUpFirst
The bad news: Omicron is more transmissible than all previous variants (5).

In Canada, we’ve seen the highest number of cases reported so far in the pandemic (and with limited testing, these are an underestimate) (6).

🧵 [3/6]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 6 tweets
ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced'Abord Profile picture
Jan 12
Thanks to committed scientists around the world, we have learned a lot about #Omicron.

Here’s what we know* now; the good news and the bad news.👇

*A lot of this research is still pre-print - things may change

🧵 [1/10]

#ScienceUpFirst OMICRON What we know now; ...
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has A LOT of mutations.

It’s got at least 36 mutations around the spike protein (which is the target of our vaccines)

🧵 [2/10]

#ScienceUpFirst
Omicron is more transmissible

- 2.6 to 3.7X more than Delta in vaccinated individuals (2).

- Shorter incubation period (3 days) than the OG strain (3, 4).

- Replicates 70x more than Delta in bronchus tissue (5). Could mean more virus shedding.

🧵 [3/10]

#ScienceUpFirst
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @ScienceUpFirst has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @ScienceUpFirst!

Read all threads by @ScienceUpFirst

:(