[HN Gopher] We fall for fake health information - and how it spr...
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We fall for fake health information - and how it spreads faster
than facts
Author : rntn
Score : 17 points
Date : 2025-05-17 19:41 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (theconversation.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (theconversation.com)
| Sophira wrote:
| The title of the submission is incorrect. The actual article
| title begins "Why we fall for fake health information" - note the
| "Why".
| Kenji wrote:
| HN always cuts off these fluff words in the beginning, like
| "Why" and "How". Often, it completely butchers the title. I
| think it's a stupid policy, but here we are.
| chownie wrote:
| This is a HN feature meant to de-editorialise the given
| headline, I personally think it does more harm than good as in
| this case
| austin-cheney wrote:
| You know, some common sense goes a long way. I wouldn't drink
| bleach even after contracting an Ebola-rabies-cordyceps
| combination.
|
| Trial and error also helps. I found that I will lose weight at a
| constant rate of 2.5 pounds a week by going extremely low carb.
| No drugs, fasting, or reduced volume were needed to drop 30
| pounds in less than 3 months.
| trod1234 wrote:
| The issues are actually more pernicious, and something else,
| and its not a matter of common sense, which as we all know is
| quite uncommon.
|
| The issue is, misinformation spreads more cheaply and rapidly,
| and is amplified more than true information. It has been
| designed and made this way through purposeful intent by not
| addressing the issues prior to integration for our
| communications channels. (i.e. doing nothing).
|
| The noise drowns out the true information, and these are the
| things they aren't saying. There are also blindspots that may
| make us more susceptible to adopting misinformation, as well as
| physiological responses such as dopamine spikes that may be
| triggered, that make one more susceptible.
|
| Today, we live in a world of Anathem. You need quite a rigorous
| approach to vetting information today and quite a lot of
| information can be neither proven true nor false.
|
| Whenever you have entities seeking total control, they will
| reduce the availability of true information. This is because
| the loss of an objective reality is what they are seeking.
|
| These issues are happening because our communications platforms
| have been compromised by malicious entities, and the companies
| involved seek to benefit themselves as well as their corporate
| masters to use that to manipulate those engaging with it and
| putting out of business any competitors that might be a
| competitor.
|
| > I wouldn't drink bleach even after contracting an Ebola-
| rabies-cordycepts combination.
|
| I think you misspoke here. Technically, what you do comes down
| to being all in the dose when it comes to safety which is the
| implication you seem to be making albeit indirect and non-
| communicative.
|
| As a contradictory example, if you swallow by accident or drink
| pool water, or municipal water, you have in fact actually had a
| drink of bleach, as well as a number of other chemicals
| depending on the pool or substructure/subsystem.
|
| It is not pure bleach which comes in various higher %
| concentrations, or molar concentrations, which we naturally
| assume as dangerous if swallowed.
|
| The same goes for the municipal water supply which uses the
| Chlorine in bleach to disinfect.
|
| The dosages differ dramatically, in orders of magnitude of ppm
| compared to oz to gallon ratios.
|
| > Trial and error also helps.
|
| Given the absence of true information with a jammed noisy
| communications channel, you have to generate the true
| information somehow (in isolation) if you have a need for that
| information (that others may need as well).
|
| There are dangers in doing that though because you are doing so
| without a safety net. For example, if one has kidney issues or
| liver issues following that advice may cause injury or death,
| and even long-term use can lead to higher incidence of issues,
| like diverticulitis if you don't get sufficient fiber, or gall-
| bladder sludge/stones which may be formed when you are kicked
| out of ketosis unexpectedly from sugar poisoning (when you
| asked for a coffee with a sugar substitute and they didn't make
| it that way). The gallbladder sludge may be normally broken
| down when you get sufficient amounts of vitamin C, but there's
| very little proven true information out there.
|
| There can be many benefits, but without knowledge, which is the
| seeking of truth, and rigorous approaches; its a guess, and the
| long-term implications and risks need to be properly informed,
| otherwise you end up just adding to the noise.
| mncharity wrote:
| > seeking of truth, and rigorous approaches
|
| Seeing someone in cognitive decline browsing the web, and
| repeatedly sucked down into medical nonsense, I've thought it
| would be nice to have an LLM chaperone to detect and
| distract. Edge moderation.
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