There are a lot of different ways we get our news— television, radio, newspaper, magazines, social media— the list goes on. Unfortunately, there are also just as many ways for us to get misinformation. There are a lot of people who think they have the secret bullet to stop COVID. You’ll even see doctors going against the grain, against what has already been determined through studies and research. But these people are doctors; surely they know what’s best for our health, right? Well, no. In fact, a random statement by a doctor on Facebook is worth just as much as another statement by your aunt who believes that the earth is on the back of a turtle and lavender oil is the elixir of life. Even a random doctor on national news doesn’t have the authority to overturn the research that actual labs have done. Some of the insanity you might hear ranges from ‘COVID-19 is the flu,’ to ‘Alien DNA is used in modern medicine.’ This isn’t supposed to mean that you can’t trust doctors; it just means that you have to stop putting them on a pedestal. Doctors are people just like us: fallible, emotional, and prone to biases. Just because someone went to school for ten years doesn’t mean that they know as much as a team of 20 epidemiologists.
Instead of getting your news from just one source, focus more on what organizations are saying. Not because the CDC or WHO will always be right, but because they have the capability to conduct research at a level infinitely higher than any individual, and are held to incredibly exacting standards.
Next time you’re scrolling through Twitter and see a video of an impressive-looking person in a white coat saying that they’re the person who actually knows what’s going on, stop and think. Does this guy single-handedly know more than the rest of the medical community? Or is this just my crazy aunt talking about 5G again?
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