• As an American: I’m really sorry if we infected you with this particular brand of idiocy. If only there were a vaccine…

    Someone’s going to reply: education is, but I offer PragerU as counter-evidence. There’s a quality scale in education, as well.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        The best propaganda is simply the slice of truth you choose to show that supports your original claims.

        It is trivially easy to dig up instances of this or that medication having complications or side-effects. And I’ll openly admit that COVID boosters still leave me feeling like shit for a day afterwards. So folks at Praeger can pull together an assortment of anecdotes and testimonials to build an anti-vax case that is entirely “true” while still being complete bullshit by way of omission.

        That’s where the whole “getting educated” stuff is a double-edged sword. You can very easily feel well-informed based on the volume of information - true, legitimate, seriously sourced information, confirmable facts - you’ve ingested, and still be lead to some utterly false conclusions.

        You can play this game with Tylenol or Chemotherapy or Dialysis as easily as any vaccine. And I do get the sense that, as the UK moves towards divesting itself of a health care infrastructure because shit costs money, we’re going to get more and more of this kind of “Don’t even bother going to a doctor, they’ll kill you!” medical denialism as a kind-of coping mechanism for a health care system that’s been defunded to the point of uselessness.

    • Ech@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      I’d honestly be surprised if the whole concept doesn’t predate the US as a country.

    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I frequently have youtube up on my TV for background noise.

      PragerU and those AI generated ads talking about free money are things I see far to frequently, and make me far too irrationally angry.

      • Enkrod@feddit.de
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        5 months ago

        Honestly, when it comes to Prager (no U because it is not an academic institution), I don’t think that’s irrational anger.

    • Shou@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Don’t worry. My country’s bible belt has been used in epidemic studies for measles long ago. It’s not just 'Murica.