Should there be an option to request the removal of a thread for 'dangerous misinformation'.

[ticktickticktickBOOM]

I feel that some of the threads about the riots are fuelling misinformation, driving division and becoming quite toxic and dangerous to communities.

It is time for a new look at the thread removal options?

"Donald Trump suggesting people drink bleach to kill covid virus would count as dangerous misinformation. As would all the tosh spouted by vaccine deniers."

Speaking of misinformation, I am not a Trump fan but he did not say that. So I would have two choices here, I could include a link showing exactly what he said or I could report this post and the whole thing would be deleted. Which would you prefer?

Also agree with the poster who said that 'misinformation' is a very subjective term and one that's easy to manipulate to suit a particular agenda.

Speaking of misinformation, I am not a Trump fan but he did not say that. So I would have two choices here, I could include a link showing exactly what he said or I could report this post and the whole thing would be deleted. Which would you prefer?

I don't know what he said so I'm afraid I took this claim at face value! If that's not true I fully take your point.

I saw one post last night that was quoting a false statistic to prove a point, one which I easily checked by looking at the current ONS figures. Other people probably just read it and took it at face value without checking to see if it was true.

This is the kind of thing that bothers me. People have such knee jerk reactions and don't check facts.

However, I take everyone's point about the need for other people to spot the misinformation and counter it with facts.
Some people do it brilliantly and clearly have the time - I just worry how much slips through the net then gets taken as 'truth'.
This is how the 'MMR vaccine causes autism' myth ended up getting perpetuated and is why measles and whooping cough are now on the rise.

Once misinformation is out there and becomes embedded in the general population - it's very, very, very hard to reign it back in.

I do see your point OP but on MMR, that was well before SM. And it was Private Eye IIRC. Proof everyone can get it wrong.

Misinformation is information that is untrue. There's nothing subjective about truth.

It's only the Meghan Markles of the world who think their truth is the real truth. It isn't. Perspectives differ, but truth is factual.

Definitely untrue statements should be removed. I'd go further and say remove posters who are deliberately spreading hate whilst obviously pretending not to be.

If untrue things were removed, threads would be really hard to follow because no one would know what the discussion was about.

Posts get deleted out of threads all the time, and we manage. This would be no different. Deliberately false information in the OP would mean that the thread needed to be pulled altogether, which again, does happen fairly often.

Removing posts containing "untrue information" in FWR, it absolutely would render threads impossible to follow because no one would know what's false and being countered. The threads on the male boxers are a case in point. MRAs are the group that would benefit. Not women.

MN has systems already. Unless people think the riots are a permanent fixture of British life? I was working on the basis that they aren't.

Would you not just report it as 'other' and specify why it should be removed?

The boxing thread just ended up being a load of people debating complete speculation - it was painful to read, just word salad and no substance.

The IBA has even spoken word salad about it at the conference today (yesterday?). There's literally such a small amount of fact to discuss that people just end up making massive assumptions and getting sucked into a crazy drama.

I got sucked in by it too. Now it seems no-one has the slightest clue what was tested by the IBA, what the tests mean, why the tests meant disqualification, what the IOC criteria are.

See I'm getting sucked in again and there's literally NO FACTS WHATSOEVER.

No one is making up that Khelif is male. Because he is. But people have had the chance to understand what DSDs are, which can only be helpful in understanding why he shouldn't be boxing females.

The current system works fine

But how do you know? When no-one else seems to be able to produce conclusive evidence?
What are you basing this on?
The IBA will not say what tests have been done, what the results are, what the results means. All they say is that the tests were 'inconclusive'. That means nothing at all.
There is literally zero information on it.

You can't just say 'because he is'.

Hi OP

Thanks for the suggestion - we'll have a talk about it in the office. In the meantime, you can use 'other' or whatever you think conveys what you're reporting. We'll take a look as soon as we can.

We're doing a bit of firefighting at the moment, so we might be a bit slower than usual, but we have and will continue to remove threads that cross the line.

This.

If you really think something is propaganda then report and explain why. Otherwise let other posters challenge it (within guidelines), they might actually convince others into realising the truth instead. Threads aren't just read by posters but also by lurkers. Challenge is better than deletion.

No, you can explain your reasons for requesting deletion in the "other" option. Come on.

Nope. I disagree. Not necessary. Most threads end up with someone qualified giving correct legal advice.

Within an hour or two following the horrendous incident in Southport the misinformation that is surely largely responsible for the was on the main / busiest thread on MN. The ‘fake Islamic name - came on a small boat in 2023, mental health, on an MI5 list’ and a link to a fake news channel saying the same. These were up for hours before the thread was taken down.

Despite posters saying the ‘news’ link was dodgy, and despite the content of the tweet being an obvious cacophony of dog whistles.

Posters were lapping this up, ‘proving’ that their previous nasty speculation on the thread was justified. Many of these posters (those who were not deliberate inflammatory trolls) will have shared this misinformation with glee across their own networks.

The thread was taken down eventually, but the spreading of that hate-inciting lie on MN haunts me.

Now I'm really confused! I thought he/she was female, at least according to his/her passport?
I give up.

Basally yo want me to depilatory anyone you don't happen to agree with?

The IBA will not say what tests have been done, what the results are, what the results means. All they say is that the tests were 'inconclusive'. That means nothing at all.
There is literally zero information on it.

This is completely untrue. They have clearly stated the tests reveal that both boxers are XY male.

The IBA criteria are also not a secret, they are based on XY chromosomes. They are on their website.