Listen to experts, not rumours
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. That quote was attributed to US politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and is more useful now than when he coined it.
In a time of social media, everyone is their own broadcaster, news editor and opinion columnist. The commentary business has been a growth industry; the ability to improvise a two-minute homily on breakfast TV or radio has somehow become more valued than the expertise that should produce such opinions. But celebrity is not the same thing as expertise.
None of this is exactly new. Nor is it breaking news that there are online actors concerned with creating and circulating as much disinformation as possible, who exploit crises for political ends. But as we face a global health crisis, it is more important than ever to sift information for truth and discard the rest.
It doesn’t help that those who should be most reliable are sometimes not, even where life and death are concerned. When US President Donald Trump claimed during a White House briefing this week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the drug chloroquine to treat coronavirus, the FDA was forced to issue a statement clarifying that no such drugs have been approved.
Locally, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was forced to deny persistent rumours that the country was about to go into lockdown on Thursday. The rumour was reportedly traced to a fake text that had gone viral – no pun intended – after starting in Malaysia and moving through Australia. The text said the information came from a cabinet insider who told of a lockdown.
These are not normal times. A lockdown would create massive social anxiety and induce panic, and not just the kind of panic already seen in supermarkets.
While New Zealand is lucky that we still have trust in the Government and our institutions, and a largely responsible media, there has been a clamour this week for the Government to do more, often from people with no obvious background in health policy or epidemiology.
Differences of opinion are to be cherished and welcomed, and noone wants to see the curtailment of free speech during a crisis, but there are also serious questions to ask about the point at which uninformed opinions become actively irresponsible.
If you believed a coronavirus cure was imminent after listening to the president of the United States, that would change your behaviour and risk the health of others. If you were convinced a lockdown was coming, that too would change your behaviour and affect others.
While it is inevitable that people feel worried and uncertain in times like these, it is vital that we think harder about what we read and hear, and what we choose to share with others.
There is a handy rule of thumb. If you want to tell others what they should do during a health crisis, it helps to have the word ‘‘doctor’’ before your name.