Fediverse vs Disinformation

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Pointing out, debunking, and spreading awareness about state- and company-sponsored astroturfing on Lemmy and elsewhere. This includes social media manipulation, propaganda, and disinformation campaigns, among others.

Propaganda and disinformation are a big problem on the internet, and the Fediverse is no exception.

What's the difference between misinformation and disinformation? The inadvertent spread of false information is misinformation. Disinformation is the intentional spread of falsehoods.

By equipping yourself with knowledge of current disinformation campaigns by state actors, corporations and their cheerleaders, you will be better able to identify, report and (hopefully) remove content matching known disinformation campaigns.

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Posts must be relevant to the topic of astroturfing, propaganda and/or disinformation

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Cod liver oil embraced amid Texas measles outbreak; doctors fight misinfo (arstechnica.com)

submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Dangerous doses

Most importantly, vitamin A does not prevent measles, and taking large or prolonged supplements without oversight from a doctor can be dangerous. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning excess amounts stay in the body and are not quickly flushed out in urine. With excessive consumption, vitamin A becomes toxic. Symptoms of vitamin A overdose included vomiting, headache, fatigue, joint and bone pain, blurry vision, and skin and hair problems. It can also lead to dangerously high pressure inside the skull that pushes on the brain, as well as liver damage, confusion, coma, and other problems, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The AAP has been quick to try to get ahead of misinformation about vitamin A use amid the measles outbreak and Kennedy's response.

"Vitamin A, at any dose, does not protect you from measles," James Campbell, vice chair of AAP's Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. "No one should take, and no parent should give to their child, vitamin A in hopes of preventing measles. It will not do that.”

Campbell instead stressed that vitamin A is a micronutrient, meaning only small amounts are needed to stay healthy. “Those small amounts are what is found in a healthy diet and in recommended doses of over-the-counter multivitamin supplements," Campbell said. "Larger doses, especially larger doses given over prolonged periods, are very dangerous."

"In summary, MMR vaccine prevents measles. Vitamin A does not," he said.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

Vitamin A can fuck you up. But, more critically, it can fuck up your unborn foetus. It can cause anencephaly, encrphelocele, and a bunch of other really nasty conditions which guarantee a short life of pain for your child.

One of the treatments for cystic acne is a product called Accutane. It is a wonder drug that can dramatically improve a person's quality of life, preventing years of suffering and disfiguring scarring. It's basically giant amounts of vitamin A, and women, while they are on it, are required to come in monthly for pregnancy tests. I think they just stop you taking it if you come up positive, but it causes such horrific birth defects, the treatment comes with this caveat.

So, people might be poisoning themselves with this self-treatment, but what's worse is that they have no idea is what high amounts of Vitamin A can do to a developing foetus.