Inactionable Information
I haven’t been paying a great deal of attention, but my understanding is that somewhere between social media and government, there is a plan to police false or misleading statements.
We are bombarded with information we should not use, i.e., it should not be “actionable.” If false or misleading information leads to action like taking or not taking a medicine or medical treatment, or voting or not voting for someone, or purchasing something that is not good for you or the environment, then it is presumed to be a problem. On the other hand, some information doesn’t provoke action and it may not matter as much. If people don’t act on it, as we say in pickup basketball, “no harm, no foul.”
There is also the question of, if action is taken and there is harm, who’s at fault? It could be the researcher who lied, failed to adequately caveat, or put the information into proper context. It could also be the media who sensationalized the information or reported it wrong. Finally, it can be the person, firm, or government agency that acted on the information knowing it’s incomplete, controversial or wrong.
There are lots of ways information can be false or misleading. In the examples below, I know more about some of the examples than others so, if I don’t get the examples exactly right, hopefully you still get the idea. Let’s look at a few types of potentially false or misleading statements.
It is premature, based on one or a few studies:
A surgical mask won’t prevent other’s germs from infecting you. This one was from the McGill Office for Science and Society – Separating Sense from Nonsense. Feb 12, 2020. Obviously, later on more research found that masks did help both ways.
An increase in the minimum wage won’t cause unemployment. There have been a few, poorly done studies to show this but the vast majority of studies, actually before and since, show otherwise.
The speaker is correct as they know it, but more information later make it appear to be a falsehood.
There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. President George W. Bush stated this in keeping with CIA estimates but it was also believed by most intelligence agencies at the time. They were never found.
The truth is written down but it’s hard to understand.
If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it. President Obama and various senior HHS speakers said this - repeatedly. One of the bill’s authors said, "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage," said Gruber. "Basically, call it the 'stupidity of the American voter' or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass."
It is puffery:
This face cream will make you look 10 years younger.
This is the best burger in the world.
I won the greatest election of all time (a recent president).
It is based on consensus science. Sometimes, consensus science is not right. This has been an issue well beyond "the earth is flat" and "bleeding will cure you" from past centuries.
Peptic ulcers are based on stress and spicy food. This was the consensus for years and turned out to be false. They are a result of infection by a bacteria, h. pylori.
Low-dose ionizing radiation is dangerous. Again, the consensus for years but the opposite is true, low dose radiation is hormetic, i.e., healthful.
There is well done research on both sides of the issue:
Red meat is bad for you. Seriously, there really are many conflicting studies.
Personal and professional lies you must tell:
Those pants compliment your naturally slim figure.
My client, Tony the Liquidator, is as innocent as a newborn lamb.
My opponent is a boo-boo head.
Claiming causation when there is only correlation:
Far too many examples to choose just one. Oh well, here’s a good one from Australia. “Academics who are tempted to remain in pajamas during the working day should think again, says an Australian study that has linked the practice to a deterioration in mental health.” Needless to say, this was not a causative finding.
Lies you tell your children (and sometimes adults – see the Gruber example above):
Santa’s tired of cookies and milk, he wants Doritos and beer.
Every time you touch something in the store, a kitten dies.
This is far from an exhaustive list. So, for all of those folks who want to regulate false or misleading speech, good luck with that.