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 30
This chapter dives into the ecological and molecular details underlying the natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.

It explains the extraordinary biology of bats, their unique immune systems, and their role as reservoirs for diverse coronaviruses, emphasizing the complex ...

1/4
... social structures and behaviors of bat species that facilitate viral recombination.

It describes how mosaic genomes like SARS-CoV-2’s could only have emerged through natural evolutionary processes within diverse bat populations and intermediate hosts.

2/4 Image
The chapter stresses that no laboratory could have artificially created the complex genome of SARS-CoV-2 given current scientific capabilities

Ignoring real natural risks while focusing on evidence-free lab leak theories distracts from necessary pandemic prevention efforts

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Read 5 tweets
Aug 22
I gave a long interview to @BenjaminMateus7 about my book Lab Leak Fever and the politics surrounding the lab leak controversy.

Benjamin did a great job editing for conciseness and prompting some pretty deep questions

Some highlights in thread ⬇️

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"My account doesn’t rely on unverifiable Chinese sources. That independence is important politically, since both China & US have advanced self-serving narratives

From my vantage point in Switzerland, I aimed to cut through this geopolitical tug-of-war and focus on the evidence."
"My guiding principle has been clear: “To all defenders of an evidence-based worldview”—the dedication in my book.

Evidence, not speculation, not deference to elites, not blind trust in science, but reasoned, evidence-based inquiry."
Read 28 tweets
Aug 14, 2024
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, 2024
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, 2024
🚨 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, 2024
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

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