Re:Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, U.S. Ag...
by unsupp0rted on Monday February 27, 2023 @08:28AM
(#34956131)
I got banned from a major Coronavirus subreddit for saying in 2021 "we don't know yet how many boosters will be needed or on what schedule". This was seen as a claim that the vaccines don't work, which was patently false (at the time).
Questioning whether the virus emerged organically or came from a lab leak? That was equivalent to claiming the government is run by lizard people and the earth is flat. That's a public shaming and banning with prejudice.
Re:Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, U.S. Ag...
by chiefalchemist on Monday February 27, 2023 @10:07AM
(#34957238)
What concerns me is now that the facts are dripping out, the tools (i.e., public shaming) that enabled a false narrative and marginalized traditional common (i.e., asking painfully obvious questions) are still normalized.
We can't just flip a button and undo the "programming" and glorification of group think. The step in the wrong direction can't be reversed.
It wasn't that long ago that just asking the question - or questioning the then narrative - was positioned as a threat to the democracy, racist (i.e., anti China), conspiracy theory, etc.
Low confidence based on available data is 100x better than high confidence based on nothing but some backroom creative thinking, and a mindless media entourage willing to parrot anything tossed in front of them.
It felt like 1984 then; this only magnifies that. And yet, still not an ounce of accountability. That's the lede.