Philipp Markolin, PhD Profile picture
Apr 4, 2023 7 tweets 9 min read Read on X
My talk at @fiocruz about the #lableak theory and the rise of #information pathogens is now freely available.

Thanks @cmmorel and @KropfSimone for this wonderful event.

Here is the youtube link to the full video with time stamps for easy accessibility:
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Here are some more highlights from the talk:

First: How do scientists deal with uncertainty and how can this help us inform ourselves about the most likely
#originofcovid ?

It comes down to asking P(Evidence|Hypothesis):
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Second:
What is the state of evidence (now in 2023) for a #zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2 versus a #lableak ?

If you don't have the time, energy or interest to watch the whole talk, here are some take away summaries:
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Third:
How does the #attention economy and #influencers treat information?

Why might this be problematic for science and society?
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Fourth:
Some very interesting questions in the Q&A section.

Why do our current institutions lose trust what does our information sphere have to do with it? Is this a problem for democracy?
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Fifth:
Another one from a science journalist in the audience:

Question: Should science communicators do velocity hacking and use the same tactics as influencers and media manipulators to compete in the current environment?
@fiocruz @cmmorel @KropfSimone Lastly, a surprise question from @PeterDaszak who had dialed in to the broadcast.

Question: What is the single most important thing scientists should do in your opinion?

... like hell I know. Here I give it my best shot:

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More from @PhilippMarkolin

Aug 14
Listen to @PeterHotez; he points out 3 strategies of the anti-science movement to shift blame now that their actions killed so many people:

1) blame the vaccines for the deaths
2) blame the scientists for creating COVID
3) blame public health for bad communication

All false
1/
The anti-vaccine movement became a juggernaut during COVID-19 by exploiting people's anxieties & profiting from their fears

Because emotional manipulation is politically valuable, republicans soon merged with the ideology

Unfortunately, that caused over 200k Americans to die
2/
... just during the delta wave alone.

Given estimates of 1,4 million excess deaths since 2020, half of it after vaccines became available, the odds are that vaccine-preventable death toll was even higher.

A huge political liability for Republicans if voters woke up to that.
3/
Read 10 tweets
Jun 9
I don't know, but I feel like the cool kids don't get sucked into magical worldviews and waste their time live-action roleplaying as "investigators" in trite conspiracy myths.

Which makes all of those in the media who fall for them, over and over again, kinda embarassing? Image
There is no version of the lab leak idea that does not assume conspiratorial elements, given the evidence we have today.

There is no lab leak "theory" in the first place, just innuendo and magical thinking with mutual contradictory ideas that can not explain available evidence
Given the overwhelming evidence for a zoonotic origin, the scientific case is long clear.

What remains of the lab leak is a zombie idea, a myth kept alive by, sorry to say, mostly science deniers, activists, media manipulators and too many suckers that keep amplifying it.
Read 6 tweets
Jun 1
🚨 Public service announcment 🚨

During the election season, discourse manipulators and influence campaigns work overtime to mislead citizens about scientific topics.

Here are 18 common tactics explained, why it works, and why you should guard yourself against it.

A 🧵

1/

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First up are the merchants of doubt

They use an array of manipulation techniques to denounce experts with various smear tactics, deny a scientific consensus exists, and deceive the public with irrelevant stories.

Full story with case examples here:


2/protagonist-science.com/p/denounce-den…
Next are the merchants of ambiguity

They distort scientific arguments by turning them into partisan fights, discredit proponents of an evidence-based worldview & dismiss the scientific method with appeals to intuition

Full story & case examples here:


3/protagonist-science.com/p/distort-disc…
Read 5 tweets
May 27
Conspiracy theorists are shocked to learn that a science blogger writing about the bat origins of SARS-CoV-2 visits field sampling expeditions to interview bat researchers 😅

Good journalistic practice must be a nefarious plot 🤣

A niche 🧵 about conspiratorial ideation

1/ Image
Yesterday, I posted the above fotos to explain that my writing is based on expert interviews, personal research experience, scientific analysis and of course legwork.

Conspiracy theorists have claimed since 2022 that I must be a "paid" shill; from China, Biden, Fauci or EHA

2/

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For them, the idea that somebody could keep speaking up for science and scientists because he believes it is the right thing (& despite their hardest efforts to bully me out of the conversation with harassments), is unthinkable.

"He must be paid to do so." became their credo

3/
Read 22 tweets
May 22
🚨Important facts 🚨

SARS-CoV-2 is a natural virus that has nothing to do with gain-of-function research.

While a complex topic, there is zero scientific doubt behind this today.

--> Full story:

Here are 5 key highlights why we know this:
A short🧵

1/protagonist-science.com/p/treacherous-…
I) SARS-CoV-2 has a mosaic genome that could only have come about through viral #recombination with other bat viruses in the wild.

No laboratory procedure or experiment can create, fake, or simulate this natural process.

Design is out of the question
It was once a bat virus

2/ Image
II) #Recombination does not have the granularity to exclude all genetic tinkering approaches, such as single AA mutations in the RBD to make it better bind human cells

Turns out, hACE2 affinity in SARS-CoV-2 was not designed either, but 100% natural

Bats have it exactly

3/ Image
Read 10 tweets
May 15
Decent article from @benjmueller at NYT about the administration's political decision to defund EHA.

He ends on a curious note 🔽

"Why now, 3 years after all the banalities the HHS cites to justify the farce were already known?"

I have some thoughts

1/
nytimes.com/2024/05/15/hea…
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It is a critically important election year, so the Biden WH can not afford to have this emotional issue with large visibility be a differentiator between the parties.

They have to act as the ones driving accountability so the Republicans can not weaponize it against them

2/ Image
No party or politician gives a hoot about Ecohealth Alliance, it is a small non-profit with no political weight or power

Cutting off its funding makes politicians look good; they can pretend to hold "bad people" accountable in a bi-partisan fashion & not ruffle many feathers

3/ Image
Read 8 tweets

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