Dr. Carl Bergstrom, a teacher of biology at the University of Washington (and a previous guest on The Upgrade), recently spoke to Scientific American about how to take in and evaluate COVID-19 news protection without “going crazy” (their words). As a professional in identifying and calling bullshit, Bergstrom shared pointers to help you determine which COVID news is worth reading and believing. Here are some of our favorites.
With so much being discussed the COVID-19 pandemic every day, its easy to feel overloaded by all the sheer amount info readily available. And given that, it is harder than ever to suss out which ones actually provide quality reporting and deserve taking note of. How do we know what to read and who to rely on?
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” High-quality info does not have a lot to do with timeliness on the scale of minutes to hours. It has everything to do with how well that info has actually been vetted and triangulated and presented. What I motivate people to do in a crisis like this one is to decrease and [read] a newspaper story that was published 12 hours ago– or 18 hours ago or 36 hours back– that was composed by an expert press reporter whos been covering infectious illness for many years [and] who has actually talked with a bunch of experts to manufacture whats going on and put and interpret things [them] into context.
I motivate people to rely on their trusted conventional media sources rather than turning to Twitter or Facebook or WhatsApp, since when you do that, you do get information thats a little bit more recent, but the quality of that details is far, far lower. Youre really vulnerable to whatever rumors go expanding across the Internet, which can be a huge issue.”.
Discover and follow particular journalists who have experience writing about health and/or contagious illness.
Despite what a reporters beat was prior to the pandemic, practically everything has shifted to COVID protection. The problem here is that not everyone has the background and training to deal with that kind of reporting. This, combined with the requirement for speed, indicates that many COVID posts might consist of information or analyses that arent accurate.
Bergstrom states that for him, finding the finest news sources comes down to analyzing specific reporters. The list of those he checks out includes Helen Branswell at STAT, because, he states, she has more than 20 years of experience reporting on infectious disease.
Changing views or suggestions is a good idea.
One day were told not to use masks, and a few weeks later on theyre mandatory– that kind of thing. Some media consumers might think that if a publication or journalist changes their position or guidance on something, it suggests that their reporting is inaccurate.
Due to the fact that the science modifications, the advice that you get from health experts changes over time. The individuals you cant trust are the ones who have not altered their views and advice, regardless of having immensely more evidence. The ones who are changing their views and suggestions, based on evidence, are the ones who are doing science and the ones who are giving great recommendations.”.
Picture: A. Aleksandravicius (Shutterstock).
And offered that, it is harder than ever to suss out which ones in fact supply quality reporting and are worth paying attention to. Some media consumers may think that if a publication or reporter changes their position or recommendations on something, it suggests that their reporting is unreliable. Because the science changes, the advice that you get from health professionals modifications over time. The people you cant trust are the ones who have not altered their views and guidance, regardless of having tremendously more proof. The ones who are changing their views and suggestions, based on evidence, are the ones who are doing science and the ones who are providing excellent recommendations.”.
To hear more from Bergstrom, examine out his appearance on The Upgrade.
Wait 12-18 hours to check out an article on breaking news.
There are some newspaper article where speed and instant reporting make sense, like deaths of public figures or significant global events. But this type of instant “breaking news” reporting isnt always the very best option– like, for example, if it involves medical or clinical details connected to an ongoing global pandemic. Bergstrom recommends that we decrease:.
