Then there’s the final aspect of the reproduction number: the inherent transmissibility of an idea. Recall how there are media guidelines for reporting events like suicides, to limit the potential for contagion effects. Researchers like Whitney Phillips have suggested we treat manipulative information in the same way, avoiding coverage that spreads the problem further. ‘As soon as you’re reporting on a particular hoax or some other media manipulation effort, you’re legitimising it,’ she said, ‘and you’re essentially providing a blueprint for what somebody down the road knows is going to
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