I have a very long list of pet peeves and right near the top is when someone pontificates on a subject they know little or nothing about. Generally, these folks are making comments based on their interpretation of a newscast, a tweet or an online article.
A couple of months ago Nova Scotia had a COVID-19 case load of 57 however no one was in hospital. The numbers were much higher than we had experienced for months and people were alarmed. One of our local newscasters repeatedly reported that there were “currently 57 patients”. A close friend of mine argued with me that there were 57 people in hospital and we should all be terrified. It took a while to figure out where her information came from but when I did, I tweeted the reporter and suggested his verbiage was upsetting people for no reason.
He was resistant to my request because he thought people should not be called cases. Two tweets later he finally agreed with me and has ever since altered his reporting to give accurate information. You’re welcome.
The thing is folks there is a huge difference between what I think and what I know and if you are in a position to influence others you have a responsibility to be clear and accurate and as a consumer, we have a responsibility to engage in some critical thinking before we believe everything we hear and or read.
There is “opinion” and then there is “news”. Opinion is “I think” and News is “I know”.
Please Note : When I say “news” I mean reliable news outlets who have sourced and can verify their material.