Be sure to wash your hands after!

Off topic here. But what's kinda interesting about covid19 is that a significant amount of the fatalities appears to be associated with cytokine storm syndrome. Suggesting that the effects of the infection might not kill you, but your body's immune system overreacts and kills you.

What do you mean by "throttle"?

Edit: What actions can we take to reduce the spread of this misinformation effectively?

throttle (v.): (1) to compress the throat of; choke (2) to kill by such action

What about using "block" and "spam" reporting? Are enough people using these features?

We've gotten off track. I was referring to my interactions with people IRL and the joke about "throttling" was just playing of the parent comment. I'm not actually considering violence, just sick of people telling me "it's no big deal" when for me, it's a VERY big deal.

Understandably, as you are in a risky position. But that doesn't mean everybody else is to. Nor does it mean that panic will do any good.

IRL makes sense. My [clearly wrong] assumption was that we're referring to online discussions.

I think relying on the good will of the masses as volunteers is like bringing a knife to a gun-fight. The opposing side does disinformation for profit[1] and has a budget for it.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22526530

It's not actually meant literally.

BTW, some internet lore:

"The social dynamics of the net are a direct consequence of the fact that nobody has yet developed a Remote Strangulation Protocol." -- Larry Wall

(Fictional) counterpoint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNSnJbjdws&t=86

My interactions have been in person. Even friends and family who know I have a compromised immune system seem to "forget in the moment". It's baffling.

hyperbole: noun

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Wash your hands, don't touch your face.

But seriously, I wonder if we can take the lessons from mitigating a biological viral epidemic, and apply them to mitigating an informational viral epidemic.

Great thought.

At first, you made me think about how a quarantine/isolation plan could be implemented on the internet. Something that is controlled mostly by a limited number of entities.

However, what if there was a habit for individuals to "feel clean" after exposure to misinformation? Something that could be accomplished on a personal level. Like washing your hands or brushing your teeth. Something where afterward you feel like you contributed to both the community and your own wellbeing.

I think people understand the basics of COVID-19 well. What they don't realize are how many "sick" people are around them. See also the health care debate over "pre-existing" conditions. Until you have one, or have a family member with one, you're pretty clueless.

Autoimmune diseases are under diagnosed, but some estimates say it's more than 1% of the population. That's roughly 3.3 million Americans that may be taking medications that reduce the efficacy of their immune system.

TLDR; Don't assume everyone is healthy / carries the same risk, even if they look healthy.

Edit: Fixed my math.

US population is about 330,000,000 so 1% would be 3.3 million, not 30 million https://www.census.gov/popclock/

Arg! My bad, that's what I get for commenting while pissed off. I'll edit the original post but thanks Internet stranger!