Hey Steemians :)
This is something I didn’t want to have to post, except I feel like it is the right thing to do in order to initiate conversation on an important issue; one which is associated very closely with the purpose of Steemit.
The beauty of this community is there are so many fascinating people, minds and experts on a variety of topics, allowing everyone to share stories and arguably more importantly, educate each other on various topics. It is a collective – where individual brilliance and achievement can be combined in order for others to learn and further their knowledge through other people’s expertise. Nonetheless, this is also an area which, due to it’s nature, is vulnerable to misinformation; and although it is partially regulated by curators who have proven themselves, this simply isn’t enough all of the time.
So, where is this ste(e)mming from? This post is a result of a reply I received on a comment I made on an anti-vaccine advocates post. Having been trained and educated on the hard facts of immunisation and vaccine as a medical student, I opted to take the opportunity to help share my knowledge on the issue in a courteous yet directed manner; involving an in-depth explanation of why the arguments put forth by the author were being propagated far outside of the scope that they should be. I heard nothing for a few days until this morning, where I received the following reply.
It is here that the contention of this piece will be emphasised. Each individual on this platform has expertise in a particular area, and using their knowledge it is their obligation to educate their readers and followers with factual information on that particular niche. This is the intended aim of the platform (unless I am wrong?). The platform should NOT be used to perpetuate a belief which has been discredited time and time again by the scientific community (OR any other community) in order to further your own self interest. The post itself may OR may not have much of a following, and some users may be wise to the misuse of information, except these people are NOT the ones to worry about. It is those readers and followers who do NOT fully understand a concept and can be mislead into believing something which might not necessarily be true.
If I’m not wrong so far, this is not what the platform was built for. The platform is intended to influence positive change, NOT push an individual down a path of destructive thinking. Even if one person is misled, that is one too many.
SO, as I wrap up this post, I want to propose TWO main things to this wonderful community:
- If you see a post you know is factually incorrect, please SPEAK UP! Do NOT be rude and demeaning, except do what the platform was intended to be used for and use your expertise to influence others knowledge for the better.
- Make sure you know why you’re posting and that you understand what you’re posting! As Kevin Hart says: “stay in your lane”
That’s all :)
NOTE: this post is not intended to call out the user involved in the above correspondence - it is merely an example to highlight how we need to make positive change, instead of the converse.
Please upvote and resteem if you found this piece insightful 😊
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