The mask mandate crowd follows the same patterns as the Trump Derangement cult and the cruise missile liberal jingoists. There's a lot of overlap. They all organize and discipline each other through moral panic campaigns. Ambitious types, like Tufekci, try to get out in front of the moral panic and direct it. It's a smart career move for people whose aptitude for perception management exceeds any real qualifications.
I used to work in "medical education" which was sometimes legit but often just marketing in disguise.
Cynicism and contempt for your audience are both great helpers in the process. Especially the idea that data and information are yours to twist as you please.
This whole mask episode reminds me of nothing so much as that. (Cochrane was a Bible to us as a legit source)
I remember when the Sunshine Act was passed. A lot of us cheered silently. People have a hard time believing stuff I tell them eg "guess the sponsor"--a game where we tried to guess the sponsor of supposedly unbiased CME. We did pretty well.
Since the health policy gurus in the US had taken away the reliable Covid treatments, ivermectin and chloroquine, they offered Covid sick patients nothing. By switching to masking, social distancing, and shutdowns they finally gave the public something. None of it worked, but that was irrelevant for our inept health leaders.
The mask mandate crowd follows the same patterns as the Trump Derangement cult and the cruise missile liberal jingoists. There's a lot of overlap. They all organize and discipline each other through moral panic campaigns. Ambitious types, like Tufekci, try to get out in front of the moral panic and direct it. It's a smart career move for people whose aptitude for perception management exceeds any real qualifications.
I used to work in "medical education" which was sometimes legit but often just marketing in disguise.
Cynicism and contempt for your audience are both great helpers in the process. Especially the idea that data and information are yours to twist as you please.
This whole mask episode reminds me of nothing so much as that. (Cochrane was a Bible to us as a legit source)
See also this essay I wrote on CME https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/10/sunshine-act-revise-history/
I remember when the Sunshine Act was passed. A lot of us cheered silently. People have a hard time believing stuff I tell them eg "guess the sponsor"--a game where we tried to guess the sponsor of supposedly unbiased CME. We did pretty well.
This made me laugh:
"a knack for cultivating editors looking for social media influencers to market clickbait essays to the Ted Talk and NPR tote bag crowd."
Every social class in America needs its gurus.
social media influencer bonus award: free SCIENCE IS REAL sign.
He had me at “ tote bag”. LMAO.
Since the health policy gurus in the US had taken away the reliable Covid treatments, ivermectin and chloroquine, they offered Covid sick patients nothing. By switching to masking, social distancing, and shutdowns they finally gave the public something. None of it worked, but that was irrelevant for our inept health leaders.