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Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

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Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#51

Post by throwawaymath »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #44
throwawaymath wrote: post #29

Fantastic. I would be thrilled to see other tech companies declare a holy war against this kind of misinformation. In fact, it would make me ecstatic if they started doing the same with other topics that have overwhelming scientific consensus, like climate change. I frankly don't care if it's censorship. It's a hill I'll happily die on.

Phlogiston, luminiferous aether, and Newtonian mechanics also once had "overwhelming scientific consensus". " The ends do not justify the means. " Even for something as important as addressing climate change.

Are you implying classical mechanics is comparable to the anti-vaccination movement? Are you aware we've successfully landed people on the Moon using calculations derived by classical mechanics? That example has harmed your argument, not supported it. Just because we have quantum mechanics doesn't mean we can't make true statements about the world using Newtonian mechanics.

As for phlogiston and luminiferous aether - yes, science is not omniscient. But those hypotheses are attributable to insufficiently precise instruments and knowledge.

More importantly, they were positive statements about the world. You're comparing them to the demand for evidence that vaccinations are harmful, to which the best rebuttal is a counter-demand to prove a negative (that they're not harmful).

What else you got?

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#52

Post by colemickens »

pbreit wrote: post #5

Unpopular opinion: I don’t like this. Would much prefer that ideas compete. Id sort of give Amazon a pass since, unlike twitter, Reddit, Facebook & YouTube, it doesn’t make many promises regarding the free exchange of ideas. But still.

The idea is competing -- it continues to grow and spread despite the (continually growing and already present) threat to public health and as such, is increasingly being considered as dangerous and bad. I simply don't understand why we have to have this exact same conversation every time a private platform makes its own content determinations.

I'm also getting really tired of this "it's just ideas, guys!" as nationalism, flat earthism, anti-vaxx and more dangerous, anti-intellectual bullshit spreads across the country in this YouTube-era. I'm on the phone with my brother and he's telling me about a student teacher telling middle school students the earth is flat. I'm tired of acting like it's fine and this is unconcerning. Maybe the ever-reliable, ever-silent downvoters could express themselves and tell me why I'm wrong to be concerned.

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#53

Post by buttcoinslol »

freedomben wrote: post #19
adrr wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

There are some that would say that a government should not be able to force you to inject things into your own or your children's bodies. They would call that tyranny. Much of the pro-choice argument regarding abortion is based on the idea that you own your own body. My kids get vaccinated, but I sympathize with the anti-vaxxers arguments regarding governmental force.

People are committed by the state (MN at least) for mental health reasons, and in certain cases, forced to take neuroleptic drugs, some of which are injected. Tyranny?

In my opinion, promoting an anti-vaccination stance is akin to shouting fire in a crowded theater, or should be viewed as such. It's a public health risk.

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#54

Post by matheweis »

gubbrora wrote: post #28
kevinthew wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Competing ideas are good but mass public disinformation is one the 21rst century's biggest problems already. There needs to be some counter to this.

It's a made up problem. There has always been lots of bad information. People are better informed than ever. Just take religion and magic and superstition which have declined a lot. It's a made up problem to justify authoritarian solutions.

This is only true in the US; in the rest of the world the population of those with various religious beliefs is growing rapidly:

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-201...

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/06/why-muslims-...

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#55

Post by melling »

freedomben wrote: post #39
melling wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit of a public health nuisance when kids start dying because other people don't want their kids to get a measles shot It's hard to believe that tens of thousands of kids still die from the measles every year.

I don't disagree. I personally think it's irresponsible not to vaccinate your kids. I also support schools and such requiring vaccinations for attendance (although that gets murky when the government runs the school). But using the government to forcibly inject stuff into people's bodies seems wrong.

When someone doesn't vaccinate their child and they get the measles, which kills someone else's child, who was too young to be vaccinated, that also seems wrong.

People will spend their entire lives as a potential danger to society. I don't think the measles, for example, will be eliminated.

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#56

Post by vasilia »

lugg wrote: post #3

It would be better to leave them up but force a disclaimer to scroll along the bottom the entire doco proclaiming factless and fictional in nature. I don't think hiding from these issues is the appropriate response. Nor is pouring gasoline on the fire fueling these conspiracy theories.

Disclaimers don't work. In Soviet Russia, a lot of people believe in strange things like this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_(2006_film) Rossiya 1 is one of the primary TV channels with a huge audience. When those people see that someone thinks that vaccination is the main source of childhood disorders, they start using folk remedies. My classmate's child died from this stupid anti-vax propaganda. I can't believe that I'm sitting in the office and writing software for a better understanding source of cancer, reading publications about ML and so on, but my classmates really believe in this bullshit about magic power of vater, vegan food and anti-vax.

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#57

Post by throwawaymath »

_red wrote: post #25
throwawaymath wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mind helping us interpret this? I'm not picking up from this what you probably intend.

Now this is just one vaccine, and its not wise to extrapolate wholesale. However, this one clearly states: there have been no controlled trials adequately demonstrating a decrease in influenza from using this product. Note: Its curious I'm being downvoted for actually posted an actual insert, which has real scientific information. You would think all the "science lovers" would applaud that. Ho hum, I guess I should'v…

Well I'm not downvoting you since 1) I can't, you responded to me; and 2) you're not being offtopic. And you're at least defending your position without memeing even if I disagree with it.

That being said, I'm glad you clarified because I figured the implication you were getting at is these are harmful vaccines. Am I correct in saying your grievance is a lack of evidence that they're helpful?

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#58

Post by Throw22276 »

_red wrote: post #25
throwawaymath wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you mind helping us interpret this? I'm not picking up from this what you probably intend.

Now this is just one vaccine, and its not wise to extrapolate wholesale. However, this one clearly states: there have been no controlled trials adequately demonstrating a decrease in influenza from using this product. Note: Its curious I'm being downvoted for actually posted an actual insert, which has real scientific information. You would think all the "science lovers" would applaud that. Ho hum, I guess I should'v…

[flagged]

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#59

Post by yongjik »

goostavos wrote: post #9
tedajax wrote: post #2

Good

Silencing ideas is not the way to correct them...

Amazon isn't set out to fight and correct anti-vaxxers. (Some people do, and I admire their devotion, but it's not a fight I'd enjoy.) They just want to stem the flow of misinformation.

It's not the job of a fireman to make an arsonist see the error of his ways. We just want to put out the fire.

Re: Amazon Removed Anti-Vax Documentaries from Prime Video

#60

Post by jakelarkin »

gubbrora wrote: post #28
kevinthew wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Competing ideas are good but mass public disinformation is one the 21rst century's biggest problems already. There needs to be some counter to this.

It's a made up problem. There has always been lots of bad information. People are better informed than ever. Just take religion and magic and superstition which have declined a lot. It's a made up problem to justify authoritarian solutions.

there's always been bad information but it was previously hard to disseminate NEW bad information quickly. It was incredibly expensive, slow and there were watchers, gatekeepers ... various religious authorities, newspaper editors etc. now the russian election manipulation cyber warfare division or your local anti-vax grifter can anonymously target a limitless number of impressionable rubes with the click of a mouse. often for free if the content's viral. thanks social media!
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