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When the sociologist Diane Vaughan came up with the term “the normalization of deviance,” she was referring to
NASA administrators’ disregard of the flaw that caused the Challenger space shuttle to explode, in 1986. The idea was that people in an organization can become so accepting of a problem that they no longer consider it to be problematic. (In the case of the Challenger,
NASA had been warned that the shuttle’s O-rings were likely to fail in cold temperatures.) Consider Facebook: for years, its leadership has known that the social network has abetted political polarization, social unrest, and even ethnic cleansing. More recently, it has been aware that its algorithms have promoted misinformation and disinformation campaigns about
The AstraZeneca Vaccine Crisis in Europe Wasn t About Science at All thewire.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thewire.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There is a crisis brewing on the other side of the Atlantic, about the safety of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19. Europeans in multiple countries have reported blood clots and abnormal bleeding after receiving it, which has occasionally required hospitalization. In response, regulators across Europe, where this vaccine is most widely distributed, have suspended its use and are reviewing its safety. But scientific and medical experts are frustrated. They emphasize that the incidence of blood clots is actually much
lower than in the general population and that the vaccine is safe. They worry that the regulators’ response will amplify vaccine hesitancy and increase potentially deadly COVID-19 infections. The science, they insist, is clear and should be trusted.
from the magazine
Secure the Vote Implausible claims of voter fraud shouldn’t invalidate the case for real reform we need to harden our electoral system against disaster.
Politics and law
The Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building on January 6 fervently believed that a massive election conspiracy was the only thing keeping the president from a legitimate second term. Trump’s claims were so extravagant and the behavior of the rioters so appalling that reasonable people might be tempted to conclude that all concerns over voting irregularities are unfounded, or, worse, a cover for extremism. Even before the election, many on the left were suggesting that any discussions about election vulnerabilities axiomatically constitute “disinformation.”