News & Views — Name the Logical Fallacy: COVID-19 Edition
Published on in Vaccine Update for Healthcare Providers
Published on in Vaccine Update for Healthcare Providers
Misinformation has been circulating as quickly as the SARS-CoV-2 virus over the last year. It can be tough for people to evaluate information that is emotionally charged and shared by trusted friends, such as often occurs on social media. However, critical evaluation of information is essential for making decisions that are based on sound, scientific information, particularly when it comes to COVID-19. One way to evaluate information is to look for “logical fallacies,” which are errors in reasoning that make an argument unsound.
As healthcare providers whose advice is often sought, confronting misinformation may feel uncomfortable. But, when people have questions based on misinformation, you may have an opportunity to not only address the factual information related to the question at hand, but to also discuss these common errors in logic. By addressing both the information and ways to critically evaluate it, you can position patients to look for these types of unsound arguments because we all have to work together to critically assess and diminish the spread of information that is purposely designed to scare and mislead.
With this in mind, try your hand at identifying the logical fallacies in the following COVID-19-based fallacies. Each of which has circulated during the pandemic.
Need a hint?
The types of fallacies used above include ad hominem attack, appeal to ignorance, causal fallacy, false dichotomy, red herring, and slippery slope arguments. Can you match them?
Leveraging opportunities to make evaluating information part of the conversation will help not only by addressing the situation at hand but also by providing people with tools to create critical thinking habits. And, as with other skills, the more people practice identifying logical fallacies or evaluating sources of information, the better they will become at it. The Vaccine Education Center offers the following tools that can be shared freely:
The printable files can be photocopied, linked from your own websites, or shared in newsletters or via social media. If you use the information in newsletters or quote the materials, please cite the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as the source. The Q&A sheets can be ordered as a “special order” by emailing us at vacinfo@email.chop.edu.
Contributed by: Charlotte A. Moser, MS, Paul A. Offit, MD
Categories: Vaccine Update March 2021, News and Views About Vaccines
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.