We know better

As the political temperature continued to rise in the last week, predictions about what may happen within a day or two or three started to make rounds. Among the news that I received last week was an image (probably a screenshot from a websites or countless Instagram posts) showing jets, the Indian Prime Minister, and text about war games, military exercises, alongside breaking news (that I had not seen anywhere else) about the alliance of nations against Pakistan, and a global conspiracy against the country. Apart from the fact that there were obvious telltale signs suggesting that this was a rushed job (stock images, grammatical errors) rather than an actual story, there was no source listed. I have gotten quite good at ignoring such texts on my phone, except there was a problem this time. This one came from someone who is an internationally recognised scholar and researcher, well versed in research and research methods. The person has published widely in social sciences, is routinely invited to conferences and seminars, has appeared on television for their scholarly work and not too long ago had the ear of influential politicians. The scholar is also known in circles for being particularly meticulous about sources and references in research papers and books, and has complained to me several times how the standard of students has declined over the years, as the more recent ones do not question the sources of information.

Troubled by the news that was shared, and since I had not seen it anywhere else, I inquired about the sources of the story that was shared with me. What I got in response was a predictable, but an unfortunate answer. "Everyone knows this is true" was the start. Further discussion about who "everyone" was went in circles. It ended with "I just forwarded what I got". Or as the phrase goes: forwarded as received.

The issue is not just in sharing and spreading information that is not verified or reliable (which in of itself a very serious problem), it is the fact that this is done by those who should know better. People - who in their day job - teach their students about rigour and quality control, about citations and sources, are very much part of spreading information that is inaccurate and untrustworthy. They are a party to the epidemic of misinformation.

Social scientists or humanists do not have a monopoly here. Practitioners of medicine and public health have done the same, despite knowing better. During COVID, many physicians, including those who teach at prestigious medical colleges, continued to prescribe antibiotics (and that too on text or WhatsApp) knowing full well that the disease was caused by a virus. The fondness for antibiotics among doctors in Pakistan goes beyond COVID-19. I know plenty of physicians (and I am sure many readers would as well), who would suggest taking an antibiotic anytime one has a cough, a sore throat, a toothache or myriad other symptoms without doing a single test to know if the disease has anything to do with bacteria or not. These physicians are not doing anyone a favour. In fact, it is well established that such practices make it worse for everyone by contributing to antimicrobial resistance. The physicians are doing something that they should know full well is going to harm the patient, and so many other people in the community for years and decades to come.

Pursuit of knowledge is a serious and a sacred endeavour. It is built on rigour, care and trust. Those who are privileged to have gained knowledge, and are entrusted to be in a position to teach others, in a society where illiteracy is high and pervasive, have a tremendous responsibility to ensure accuracy of information, and have to guard against the impulse of doing what everyone else is doing. There is nothing patriotic, kind or trivial about contributing to misinformation.