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The Covid-19 thread in CA allows too much fearmongering without evidence.

  • 19-02-2020 1:45pm
    #1
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,381 ✭


    Thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058047651

    It seems to be the site's main place to discuss this global emergency and considering this is Ireland's biggest forum site, there is little being done to control the veracity of its content. Multiple posters post either unverified fake videos or they mangle stats to make the epidemic orders of magnitude worse than it is.

    I suggest than in such a climate where panic buying may happen, and people are in fear of what it may do to older relatives etc., posters should be required to post decently reliable sources and they should not be allowed to play with stats to incite fear.
    Post edited by Shield on


Comments

  • #2
    Call Me Jimmy
    Registered Users Posts: 8,449 ✭✭✭Call Me Jimmy


    Personally prefer to read it and see it myself. I don't take everything I read or see as fact. One guy is putting forward a calculation about deaths, he tells you exactly how he got there and people can and have challenged him. You challenged him even. Your point is seen as much as his. What sort of modding would happen in this instance?

    It's not like the forum is thought to be the official government communication, it's people talking. Regarding the videos, I learned a lot of things about the outbreak in China from unverified sources that have been confirmed and given that the Chinese government uses this 'misinformation/ rumors' tactic it doesn't sit well with me. I don't like to see the attitude to take hold in the west especially on this issue. I suppose boards has rules about speculation around news events but I think it is overkill if people have to link to a news article or academic paper to have an opinion, impression or posit something.

    It seems people pushing these policies assume most people can't discern for themselves. If you see an idiot posting crazy stuff, chances are 99% of other people see what you see too, they don't need to be told. I prefer to err on the side of too much information rather than too little (in every context) and make up my own mind.

    A compromise might be an [unverified] thread if you want one for strictly official information from verified sources.

    But generally I'm just a curmudgeon for this trend and hysteria about fake news / misinformation and being told everybody is panicking for weeks even though almost everyone is calm and rational and just having a discussion.


  • #3
    gozunda
    Registered Users Posts: 18,996 ✭✭✭✭gozunda


    Ads by Google wrote: »
    Thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058047651

    It seems to be the site's main place to discuss this global emergency and considering this is Ireland's biggest forum site, there is little being done to control the veracity of its content. Multiple posters post either unverified fake videos or they mangle stats to make the epidemic orders of magnitude worse than it is.

    I suggest than in such a climate where panic buying may happen, and people are in fear of what it may do to older relatives etc., posters should be required to post decently reliable sources and they should not be allowed to play with stats to incite fear.

    That sounds like a very Chinese state type solution tbh ...

    A lot of the information we have on the outbreak - including some of the 'official' figures on deaths etc have already been called into question.

    Many of the videos etc have already been published by mainstream media sources - that said given the current situation it is probably impossible to verify any of them tbh.


  • #4
    scotchy
    Registered Users Posts: 2,182 ✭✭✭scotchy


    One of the main reasons I like the thread is that posters and information, both good and bad, are called out and questioned.

    Hopefully it continues as is.

    .

    💙 💛 💙 💛 💙 💛



  • #5
    fritzelly
    Registered Users Posts: 17,230 ✭✭✭✭fritzelly


    A lot of stuff called out as fake or suspect came to be proved correct
    If obviously fake stuff is posted then just educate the poster
    Thankfully we dont have state censorship like what you are requesting


  • #6
    Arghus
    Registered Users Posts: 14,320 ✭✭✭✭Arghus


    I dunno, the one place I wouldn't look to for verifiable fact about Covid-19 is the Current Affairs forum on Boards.ie


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  • #7
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,196 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Arghus wrote: »
    I dunno, the one place I wouldn't look to for verifiable fact about Covid-19 is the Current Affairs forum on Boards.ie

    I agree with that sentiment. I posted a warning in the OP partially on the back of Ads by Google's feedback, but also after a number of reports. It can be seen via the link in the OP here, but the gist of it is none of us can be considered in any way "specialist" in the topic, but even if any of us feel we do have relevant knowledge we are all anonymous posters and unless a verified rep our own "expertise" is non-verifiable. Equally though those comments apply across the whole site.

    Of course posting links to verifiable sources is different, but unlike other forums such as Politics we no not require such links to be posted and in the absence of such verifiable information everything posted should really be taken with a pinch of salt (except Mod warnings of course:pac:)


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