Seeing Through Misinformation About the Pandemic

How should we sort through the information about Covid-19 and distinguish fact from falsehood? In the first episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Onkar Ghate sat down to discuss the claims around the drug hydroxychloroquine and the debate over mandatory lockdowns. The discussion provides philosophic guidance for individuals to better navigate the flood of information coming from the news and social media.

Topics covered include:

• How should one evaluate the reliability of information or its source?
• Can your conclusions be objective without examining counter-evidence?
• Does relying on expert knowledge amount to simply accepting “arguments from authority?”
• How do “right to try” arguments factor in when dealing with a new disease?

One additional resource, recommended during the discussion, that provides helpful tools for assessing the reliability of news sources, was Bayer’s lecture “Being Objective About the News.”

For these and other insights, watch or listen below.

And join the live Zoom broadcast on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m. Pacific to take part in the Q&A. Go to https://zoom.us/join and use Meeting ID: 812-506-718. Or catch the livestream or recordings on YouTube and Facebook.