To think that Mumsnet should clamp down on the scaremongering threads?

[callmeadoctor]

Thats it really, you come on Mumsnet and anxiety levels are ramped up. Surely thats not safe?

And if you dare to challenge them with sensible facts you just get abuse thrown at you that you aren’t “taking it seriously”.

They are silly posts, say go away, no, no here’s why. I’ve seen it and every time someone refuted it pretty much. (It’s actually one particular poster a lot if the time I’m not sure why)

I reported a thread yesterday for misrepresenting the death rate in the U.K. compared to other countries. The figures the OP linked to showed that it was nowhere near as bad as the OP was making out. MN zapped it.

One major issue for me is the inconsistencies in testing strategies and in recording the cause of death when there are underlying conditions means that data comparison between countries is tricky.

That too late to flatten the thing is utter bollocks and the opposite of what experts are advising.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon 'The ones who claim all hospitals are full of young people with no underlying conditions with not the slightest of evidence to back this up.'

This is the data on the profile of those in intensive care in the UK:

'The report also provides the first in-depth profile of those who have needed intensive care. Most (139) were male, 71% of all cases; the median age was 64 although 37% were under 60; only 18 patients had “severe co-morbidities”, such as underlying heart conditions or lung disease; while 63% were overweight, obese or morbidly obese.
Two patients had been pregnant within the last six weeks.
Doctors warn coronavirus could overwhelm NHS ‘within weeks’

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/21/doctors-warn-coronavirus-could-overwhelm-nhs-intensive-care?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

There is no issue with talking about factual information, or even worst case, what this thread is about is the ones scare mongering and going way further,. Spreading false catastrophic information, stuff they have personally imagined, and that there is no weight behind it anywhere.

Thanks to the poster who showed how to delete a whole topic - at last I have found a way to (almost) get rid of the coronavirus!
I do think some people are getting over involved, and spending ages trawling the internet to find 'facts' they can post, with absolutely no verification at all quite often.
The vitriol is horrific, I have never seen so many 'ffs!' before. I know it's bad, but being in a panic helps no one. I try and find topics without any mention of the virus but it is almost impossible. I have stopped reading mumsnet so much because of this. I really don't need some hysterical millenial telling me how bad it is (with added swearing) - I can see that for myself.

Yes, they should. The amount of unsubstantiated, utter garbage Ive seen spouted here is concerning. Its as if people enjoy stirring up hysteria and will even lie about it to cause it. Of COURSE this is extremely serious and concerning- noone sensible or with half a brain cell is denying that.
But predicting wars, and saying life will never go back to normal and we are all doomed FOREVER is not helping anything. Its pure scaremongering and I really do question the nefarious motives behind this.

Only yesterday there were at least 3 most active threads which contained FALSE statistics about CV in the UK and one person even asked for her own thread to be taken down because people pointed out it was not true. It seems people are rushing to post scaremongering threads without even bothering to check if the facts they are spouting are even bloody true and half the time they arent. Not to mention people struggling to interpret statistics correctly and arriving at the wrong conclusions because of it. Now of course not everyone is going to be a statistics expert but in that case, WHY oh why post something if you arent really sure what it even means? Fck me, this is getting absolutely ludicrous now.

A few examples below are so silly that anyone with a brain can deal with them.

A few threads and posts from people from the frontline, you can’t check who it is, but it is entirely possible given the numbers. It’s up to people if they read it or not.

People are too worked up about it. You don’t think it’s true say so. Report it even. Don’t read it.

crazydiamond those statistics do not suggest that London hospitals are awash with young healthy people.

It flattens the curve, the area under the curve remains the same. The same number of people will become infected, and very close to the same number will die. It will just take longer. We don't have enough ventilators, ICU beds or staff to make flattening the curve very helpful,

This is the very definition of scaremongering - the unsubstantiated thoughts of a random person on the internet. You need to refer people to the relevant scientific information that says this.

In fact, if you refer to the influential paper by the highly-respected scientists at Imperial College London, the recommended measures that the government are now starting to take is about aiming to "flatten" the curve (or at least change to a more manageable series of lower peaks and troughs) so that although a similar number of people will likely become infected overall it will be spread over a far longer period of time so that there is much more likelihood of staff, ventilators and ICU beds available. It also buys us valuable time to source resources such as oxygen and new ventilators.

There are a number of easy-to-understand explanations of the strategy widely available across the mainstream media if you search for "Imperial College London Coronavirus study".

In fact, if you refer to the influential paper by the highly-respected scientists at Imperial College London, the recommended measures that the government are now starting to take is about aiming to "flatten" the curve (or at least change to a more manageable series of lower peaks and troughs) so that although a similar number of people will likely become infected overall it will be spread over a far longer period of time so that there is much more likelihood of staff, ventilators and ICU beds available. It also buys us valuable time to source resources such as oxygen and new ventilators.

Yes, and all of this is predicated on the assumption that the public will behave in a certain way, and that a vaccine will be found and made scalable in a certain time frame, and that various private sector actors will deliver ventilators in a certain time frame and so on.

But a lot of people see factually correct information as "scaremongering". Some of us want to remain informed even if the information available is scary

What part of predicting riots in 7 and a half weeks is factual information?

@marginalgain I never said they did. But it is actual verified data and people can interpret it as they wish.

I agree there is some scaremongering but in most cases awareness based on an accurate assessment of risk leads to behavioural change and behavioural change is essential to save lives.
www.henryford.com/blog/2020/03/how-to-deal-with-coronavirus-fears

That's true Marginal, but that is a separate issue to random people on the internet telling others there is no point following the official advice because they personally don't think it will work, as PP did. The scientists have posted their theory based on evidence and research. The government make policies based on this information and tell people to follow them. If people choose not to follow them, it is up to the government to decide how to act next, based on the scientific evidence available.

It is scaremongering (and encouraging potentially life-threatening behaviour) to tell people that the same number of people will die whether we follow social distancing or not without substantiating that statement with credible scientific evidence.

Chardonnay just say there won’t be and why. If someone is that anxious about it you will help them.

That's true Marginal, but that is a separate issue to random people on the internet telling others there is no point following the official advice because they personally don't think it will work, as PP did. The scientists have posted their theory based on evidence and research. The government make policies based on this information and tell people to follow them. If people choose not to follow them, it is up to the government to decide how to act next, based on the scientific evidence available.

Exactly why is it separate? I've just explained why I think the prevailing 'scientific" (which is largely social science and not just virology/biology etc) wisdom is entirely subject to revision.

It's tricky though, isn't it. There's some outright bullshit and then there are things which are true (schools will close) and things that are considered perfectly reasonable projections today (people will die in their tens of thousands) that were being lambasted as scaremongering only a fortnight ago.

The OP on the rioting thread was asking for opinions based on what she'd heard.
DS has a lot of friends in the Army. They're all on standby and being briefed on how to deal with looters.

What do you think? Just a precaution or the powers that be really think they will be needed?

Clearly everything on there is an opinion unless there is someone from the MoD on the thread.

I agree with @BigChocFrenzy

People STILL aren't taking it seriously enough, we know that. It's the looking away and the sticking heads in sand that will have us in the same situation as Italy in 2-3 weeks time.

Unfortunately, the scariest posts atm come from the WHO, leading epidemiologists and the government's COVID thinktank

This.

Certain posters need more scary posts rather than less, if the numbers ignoring social distancing and sending their kinds to school unnecessarily is anything to go be.

Unfortunately, the scariest posts atm come from the WHO, leading epidemiologists and the government's COVID thinktank

Nope. Disagree. I’d far rather hear facts than unsubstantiated mystic meg predictions

Unfortunately, the scariest posts atm come from the WHO, leading epidemiologists and the government's COVID thinktank

I completely disagree. Their posts are factual, to the point, and I find them reassuring.

Those people who think posters are posting too much scary stuff. What do you think the situation will look like in two to five weeks?

Italy? Other?