February 24, 2022
retracted research, dishonest info
This is my periodic reminder that we are suffering from more than the pandemic of COVID-19. We are also gravely influenced by the pandemic of disinformation which is increasingly divisive. Not to mention that this misinformation can be deadly when people fear vaccines or insist on unproven treatments like ivermectin. How ivermectin came to be the favorite of people that are otherwise against COVID-19 recommendations is worth considering. Early studies were published that touted the success of using ivermectin. However, the data was fabricated or suspicious and the study results retracted. By that time, the drug was encouraged by President Trump and people trusted him over the data. Since then other studies have not been able to reproduce the results of the first ones. Interestingly, this was not the only retraction from 2020 and 2021. It seems that in the rush to get out ideas about how to treat COVID-19, mistakes were made. The lingering problem with retractions in the digital age is that the fingerprint of the initial publication is hard to remove. These grave errors have been difficult to put back in the box, causing confusion and increasing skepticism.
We continue to have ideas spread virally that are false. Recent examples include the false claim that thousands have died of cancer due to vaccines. Another is the claim that vaccines cause an entity called vaccine immunodeficiency syndrome, a non-existent entity. The people spreading this rumor insidiously linked to a Lancet medical journal article to make the claim appear legitimate. The unethical part is that the Lancet article said nothing about the syndrome. These “experts” essentially misled their readers.
All of these rumors have decreased many Americans confidence about the COVID vaccines, despite great data and the fact millions of Americans have received the vaccines and are doing OK. Somehow they think these ongoing questions mean the data is suspicious and leads to correlations that confuse people. Look at this great website that shows “spurious correlations” for some amusement and clarification on how easy it can be to jump to conclusions.
Being able to slow down is key to evaluating any data we are reviewing. Checking sources is vital, but as I mentioned above, a source may be listed that is not factual. Check the actual source for the info. Also know which sources are trusted and check with them. I use an App called Newsguard that helps me vet my sources. Don’t forget to use fact checking sites. The Infodemic is real. We must be careful in other areas of our lives too so that we ourselves don’t add more fuel.
Wash your hands, cover your nose please, and slow down and check your sources and your biases.
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22776428/ivermectin-science-publication-research-fraud
https://www.mdlinx.com/news/the-top-retractions-of-2021/2Q5t8x5AKGUJkjImfmyJNi
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/not-real-news-a-look-at-what-didnt-happen-this-week-95/
https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-330111634396
https://www.mdlinx.com/news/nearly-half-of-americans-still-unsure-about-popular-vaccine-misinformation/16tNADgwjprTSrEQ5eYRYt
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/the-worlds-first-anti-vaccination-movement-spread-fears-of-half-cow-babies/
https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/how-to-avoid-falling-for-and-spreading-misinformation-about-ukraine/
https://www.newsguardtech.com
https://infodemic.blog