Archive.org links for the relevant content:
The original call to address vaccine misinformation
The Admin post this post is in response to
This is what the post says:
Response to Yesterday’s Admin Post
Yesterday, over a thousand communities on Reddit made posts to their subreddits, calling for Reddit to take action against harmful misinformation on their site. These posts collectively gathered hundreds of thousands of upvotes, with users showing their support in the comments, and several large media outlets picking it up. Subsequently the admins posted a response to /r/Announcements, in which they stated that this misinformation would be allowed on their site, and that they will continue to action communities that violate their sitewide rules, including encouraging fake vaccine cards & “encouraging harm”. They finished the announcement with a thinly veiled threat of punishing moderators who have participated in this protest, if it continues. The post was immediately locked, making it impossible to directly respond to.
This statement from the admins is hypocritical, dishonest, and misrepresentative of the situation on their site. They are portraying the misinformation as simply discussion that criticises the majority opinion, when it is far more than that: It is discussion that actively advises against government guidelines, opting to follow disproven studies and anecdotal evidence. As stated in our original letter, this type of misinformation is dangerous. The admins are pretending like it is not. As redditors, we should come together against this harmful propaganda.
Reddit’s CEO /u/spez is claiming that the admins will take action on communities that “encourage harm”, while allowing subreddits that advocate not taking an FDA-approved vaccine in favor of taking unapproved drugs, the effects of which have not been studied. Most notably is Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites and that the FDA has explicitly advised against using for Covid is often recommended by antivaxx subreddits, most notably r/Ivermectin. This type of misinformation is actively endangering people. The admins are simply sticking their head in the sand, and refusing to take any responsibility for the damage that their inaction is causing.
Until Reddit takes action, we will continue to speak out against subreddits which exist solely to spread medical disinformation.
Here’s how you can help: When you see antivaxx comments or submissions report them to the admins using this link:
https://www.reddit.com/report?reason=this-is-misinformation
“Furthermore, I consider that Reddit must be destroyed”.
Your worrying about another site and complaining about it here is ridiculous. Also, what ever happened to free speech? And, if a group of 400+ doctors and scientists have joined in a law suit to counter main stream covid-19 related ‘facts’, maybe Reddit isn’t in the wrong after all. I recall when the media bashed Nobel Prize-winning virologist Luc Montaingner (i probably misspelled his last name) when he said that virus was lab-made. When it was discovered he was correct, he didn’t get any or many public apologies. Who owns ‘the truth’ or ‘science’? Why the witch burnings? Some of you remind me of Medieval Christians looking for people to burn. I mean, HOW DARE someone disagree with you? Even Einstein got a few things wrong.
If I may counter the medieval witch burning, I’m pretty confident that attributing all humanities sins to religious fanatics is a convenient way to remember history. Now that religious fanatics are no more, it’s not like this never happened before.
There are studies that show that average human beings can do horrible or unethical things (things they don’t feel comfortable doing) when an authority figure asks them to and/or when the rest of the crowd does it. Behavioral consumerism is one of the fields studying such behaviors, I think. Yes, witch burning is an extreme. What we find ‘extreme’, though, is often situational. When we remove ourselves from a situational (often a time difference or geographical or even cultural difference), we can often be more objective - or maybe we just had more time and space to think about it. Is it possible that claiming to be the upholder of TRUTH makes you arrogant? Depends on the topic, right? And, who gets to judge that? Maybe that is why the more polite way to handle ‘truth’ is to give people some space to believe or do what they want. I think that is what rights are all about. 400+ doctors and scientists have joined together in a lawsuit against some of this covid-19 stuff, so to say YOUR experts are right and the experts of others are all wrong seems absurd to me. That is why you should give people some SPACE to be themselves and live by the results of their own actions. I recall when gay men were blamed for the spread of AIDS. How far should gov’t or authorities (including business owners) go? This is NOT an all-or-nothing issue and who gets to bark orders anyway? Who died and made you god?
The Calhoun experiments are quite fascinating indeed, I think more people need to familiar with them. What we perceive to be obvious, is a mere sense of familiar, but does not necessarily mean we are correct. I think the crusades on reddit is people taking on their social roles because the situation is familiar. There’s no free will nor the strength to think or change, just an animal kingdom with short sight and too short of arms to reach the truth. Authoritativeness is just a social role to make other people’s social roles more familiar. And a shit ton of money to make it happen.
All vaxx and antivaxx communities are a bunch of memes and propaganda, I have no sympathy for them whatsoever.
are you implying not everything is all-or-nothing? How dare you offend me with reality
One side is making up “evidence”, appealing to people’s raw emotions, all the while snorting horse medicine while yne other wants people to trust a science-based technology that is proven, effective, and very low risk. But sure if you say so, both sides are the same.
We are talking about one mob crusading another mob. What does science have to do with this, I don’t quite follow.
One group is ignoring the time tested and comprehensive science of vaccines, the other group endorses it?
“Science of vaccines” is not one-sided and will never be because it’s science. Please refrain from posting reddit squabble on tech communities.
Yeah but what is the ‘correct information’? And who has the authority to say what is the ‘correct information’? Don’t you see that the attack on misinformation that is happening right now is actually an attack and threat to everyones right to freedom of speech? You give them an inch and they will keep pushing, keep pushing until we no longer have freedom of speech.
If your version of “free speech” means not being allowed to “censor” patently false information that has already proven deadly, I want no part of it. People’s lives are more important than your “right” to open your mouth.
