- Joined
- Jul 18, 1998
- Messages
- 25,496
- Reaction score
- 55,440
Offline
We were all just reminded why Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter, now rebranded X, is so poisonous to our discourse.
Son of basketball legend LeBron James, 18-year-old Bronny James, suffered from cardiac arrest during a basketball workout. He was rushed to the hospital and, as of Tuesday afternoon, is in a stable condition. As we’ve come to see so commonly with sports stars and conditions like this, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories surged on social media, especially Twitter. The owner of the site couldn’t help but to join in.
Elon Musk wasted no time immediately suggesting the Covid-19 vaccine could be to blame. Musk tweeted (or xeeted?): “We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.”
Musk sent that post only 30 minutes after the first TMZ report on Bronny’s condition was released. He had zero information on what could have caused Bronny’s cardiac arrest, nor does he have any unique insight into Bronny’s potential pre-existing conditions. But Musk didn’t let his lack of evidence spread this anti-vaccine conspiracy theory. A simple “I wish Bronny a speedy recovery” would’ve sufficed.
When it comes to Musk’s unsolicited and unsubstantiated theory, the data doesn’t suggest it is the most likely explanation. Developing myocarditis from a Covid-19 vaccine is rare. In fact, the American Heart Association published a 2022 analysis of nearly 43 million people which found that people are more likely to develop myocarditis from Covid-19 itself than from the vaccine.
It’s also important to note that sudden cardiac arrests among young athletes are nothing new. In fact, in 2014, well before Covid-19 vaccines arrived, the NCAA convened a task force to evaluate cardiovascular care for their students. In 2016, the NCAA published a press release stating: “Sudden cardiac death is the most common nontraumatic cause of death among college athletes, and 75 percent of college student-athlete deaths occur during sports and exercise.”
Now, I’m not saying that Bronny’s chances of having myocarditis from the vaccine are zero. Like Musk, I do not have any deeper insight into the inner workings of this sad, developing case. But I do look at reliably sourced data, which suggests the chances are very low. If he was keen to speculate, I couldn’t help but wonder why, if the available data shows you are in fact more likely to develop myocarditis from Covid-19 itself, Musk didn’t speculate Covid-19 that could have been the cause? Or why didn’t he speculate it may have been another sudden cardiac arrest suffered by a young athlete? The answer seems to be that Musk was seeking to echo anti-vaccine rhetoric...............
www.independent.co.uk
Son of basketball legend LeBron James, 18-year-old Bronny James, suffered from cardiac arrest during a basketball workout. He was rushed to the hospital and, as of Tuesday afternoon, is in a stable condition. As we’ve come to see so commonly with sports stars and conditions like this, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories surged on social media, especially Twitter. The owner of the site couldn’t help but to join in.
Elon Musk wasted no time immediately suggesting the Covid-19 vaccine could be to blame. Musk tweeted (or xeeted?): “We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.”
Musk sent that post only 30 minutes after the first TMZ report on Bronny’s condition was released. He had zero information on what could have caused Bronny’s cardiac arrest, nor does he have any unique insight into Bronny’s potential pre-existing conditions. But Musk didn’t let his lack of evidence spread this anti-vaccine conspiracy theory. A simple “I wish Bronny a speedy recovery” would’ve sufficed.
When it comes to Musk’s unsolicited and unsubstantiated theory, the data doesn’t suggest it is the most likely explanation. Developing myocarditis from a Covid-19 vaccine is rare. In fact, the American Heart Association published a 2022 analysis of nearly 43 million people which found that people are more likely to develop myocarditis from Covid-19 itself than from the vaccine.
It’s also important to note that sudden cardiac arrests among young athletes are nothing new. In fact, in 2014, well before Covid-19 vaccines arrived, the NCAA convened a task force to evaluate cardiovascular care for their students. In 2016, the NCAA published a press release stating: “Sudden cardiac death is the most common nontraumatic cause of death among college athletes, and 75 percent of college student-athlete deaths occur during sports and exercise.”
Now, I’m not saying that Bronny’s chances of having myocarditis from the vaccine are zero. Like Musk, I do not have any deeper insight into the inner workings of this sad, developing case. But I do look at reliably sourced data, which suggests the chances are very low. If he was keen to speculate, I couldn’t help but wonder why, if the available data shows you are in fact more likely to develop myocarditis from Covid-19 itself, Musk didn’t speculate Covid-19 that could have been the cause? Or why didn’t he speculate it may have been another sudden cardiac arrest suffered by a young athlete? The answer seems to be that Musk was seeking to echo anti-vaccine rhetoric...............
Elon Musk responding to Bronny James is exactly what we can expect of Twitter now
On day two of the X rebrand
www.independent.co.uk
