Covid-19 Misinformation and Facts on PH

[LaurasOtherHalf]

What responsibilities do we as posters, along with mods in their capacity of keeping control of things have with regards to misinformation and false facts on Covid-19?

Social media and news channels are rightly coming under scrutiny and yet un-checked "facts" are continued to be posted on these forums. Is it a case of no one reporting?

[BobsPigeon]

When swimming in a sea of bullst first rule should be, keep your mouth shut.

Doesn't help the situation overall but does protect you.

[Alucidnation]

Not sure i have seen much misinformation in ay of the threads?

Unless the posts have been dealt with before i saw them.

[Ben Lowden]

Misinformation is very difficult for us to moderate. As moderators on what is first and foremost a motoring website, we cannot be held accountable for what is or is not factual with not just covid, but other subject matters too.

What’s factual in one study can go against what’s factual in a different study and we cannot be expected to make a decision either way; many people can find a ‘fact’ online to suit their own opinion or agenda and we cannot be the arbiter of the truth.

If someone is offensive or breaks our rules of posting, then we can moderate on reported posts appropriately. But we’re unable to verify if something is factual or not, I’m afraid. If someone is making a ridiculous claim, such as covid being spread by 5G or the government planting tracking devices in us with the vaccine, then of course we can look at removing those posts.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

regards to misinformation and false facts

Pretty much every thread (on any subject) has somebody posting their "facts" on a subject that are codswallop.

If you are dim enough to believe some random posting gibberish on a motoring forum, then you deserve all you get frankly.

[car user]

The best way to deal with it is to let people discuss it. If you try and suppress an idea it becomes more appealing.

I can't say I've seen much covid disinformation though. The main disputes I see on the topic are regarding the government measures (laws vs guidance) and they all tend to be pretty informative (Thanks to input from actual legal experts like BV). Seeing an incorrect statement called out as such is much more useful than seeing nothing.

[Evoluzione]

What a strange post.

[deebs]

car user said:

The best way to deal with it is to let people discuss it. If you try and suppress an idea it becomes more appealing.

I can't say I've seen much covid disinformation though. The main disputes I see on the topic are regarding the government measures (laws vs guidance) and they all tend to be pretty informative (Thanks to input from actual legal experts like BV). Seeing an incorrect statement called out as such is much more useful than seeing nothing.

This. The best way to fight ignorance isn't to suppress it, it's to let it be exposed and mocked for what it is, regardless of the subject matter.

The problem I see as it relates to covid is that anything that doesn't fit neatly into the SAGE consensus is either not reported in the media or if it is it's presented as some sort of outrageous thinking. It's not often the Oxford centre for evidence based medicine for example, which is part of Oxford university, would be subject to "fact checkers" on social media declaring their work to be accurate or not. But as it doesn't nearly replicate the facts sprouted by a selected group, that's where we are.

[MDMA .]

Who decides what is fake news?