Given that all of the major bases of the Covid 19 pandemic are provably false, it would stand to reason that there may be a great many logical fallacies involved in the arguments supporting the Covid 19 lockdowns. Due to a lack of Covid Facts, we can expect that there are a lot of Covid Fallacies or falsehoods.
Here are some irrefutible Covid Facts:
- There is no pandemic: This event can only be called a pandemic because the World Health Organisation arbitrarily changed its definition of the term.
- Covid 19 is not a serious disease for healthy people
- The death toll from Covid 19 is comparable to a flu season.
- The deaths from Covid 19 are exaggerated by classifying death with Covid 19 as if it were death from Covid 19
- The test for Covid 19 is being used in such a way as to result in 80% false positives.
Now lets look at some common Logical Fallacies, and see if they have been used to justify the Covid 19 fear mongering.
For the definitions of Covid 19 I have quoted freely from an article here
Logical Fallacies are errors in reasoning and logic that are so common as to have names. They are often used to bolster an argument that is otherwise weak. Where the Covid Facts do not suit the desired narrative, Covid Fallacies are used instead…
1. Ad Hominem attack
This is a logical fallacy based on attacking the personality of the one presenting an opposing argument. It shifts focus away from the validity of the argument, and seeks to discredit the opposing argument by discrediting the opponent.
In Covid 19 world, this has been used from the start by characterising opponents as “conspiracy theorists”, “anti-vaxers”, “right wing”, and other irrelevent slurs. None of these name callings address the arguments being presented by those who question the status quo on Covid 19.
2. Strawman Argument:
This is based on attacking a weak, easily defeated position that is not even held by the oposition.
In Covid 19 world, we havn’t often seen this to my recollection. But that is mostly because opposing arguments have not been addressed, even with strawman arguments! But there are examples, such as the claim that Donald Trump wanted people to drink bleach.
3. Appeal to Ignorance.
Now here is a Logical fallacy that is being used a lot in Covid 19 times. The most startling example of its use was the tactic of big tobacco to claim for 50 years that “there is no scientific evidence that smoking is harmful”. This tactic was successful then, and the same fallacy is being deployed now:
“There is no evidence that vaccines are unsafe” “There are no studies to show a link between vaccines and neurological damage in children”. Those statements are as untrue as the claims of big tobacco, but they are sufficient to cause doubt in the audience. This leads to the state sponsored radio mantra exorting us to subject all of our children to a flu vaccine which is “safe and effective”. The logic that it is safe, is based on the appeal to ignorance: “There is no evidence that it is unsafe, therefore it is safe”.
It should be noted that the lack of evidence as to the safety of vaccines is a result of the control of the manufacturers over the testing proceedures. As the vaccines are not required to be meaningfully tested for safety, there is an apparant lack of available evidence as to safety. (There is of course ample independent evidence, but there is enough ignorance created to allow the fallacious argument to be made). In this way Covid Facts are ignored by appeal to ignorance..
4. False Dilemma.
This fallacy has a few other names: “black-and-white fallacy,” “either-or fallacy,” “false dichotomy,” and “bifurcation fallacy.” This line of reasoning fails by limiting the options to two when there are in fact more options to choose from.
The greatest example of this fallacy in Covid 19 is the PCR covid 19 test. This magnification test amplifies genetic material, and gives some indication of the presence of that material in a sample. The more magnification, the more liklihood to pick something up, and the less liklihood that it represents an infection. Here is an interesting Covid Fact: The covid 19 test is being run at 40-45 cycles of magnification in Ireland, when it is acknowledged by experts in the field that the maximum relevent cycle threshold should be 30. As a result it is estimated that the results are 80% false positives.
Regardless of the above, the test results are presented as a black and white, either-or. Patients are told that they are positive for covid 19, or negative.
In fact, patients should be told that a test was used, whose inventor stated should not be used to diagnose disease, with a cycle threshold of 40-45, where 30 is considered maximum, and per a letter from the HSE in my posession “a positive does not indicate the amount of virus present, whether it is increasing or decreasing, or if the sample taken represents the situation inside the respiratory tract of the subject”
Another example of the false dilemma fallacy in action in Covid 19 is the claim that “We need to lockdown, stay at home, social distance, stop all gatherings, or else Covid 19 is going to spread rampantly and kill tens of thousands of people”. Of course, these are not the only two options. All of the Covid Facts available to us undermine that false dilemma.
That is four out of 15 Logical fallacies listed.
So far, Covid 19 is a pandemic of Logical fallacies. Covid Facts are ignored in favour of fearmongering.
But I’m too tired now to list the rest. More tomorrow.
Write to me and tell me you read this.
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