Editor:

Kudos to the authors on this topic (Mailbox, Oct. 31). It can’t be a bad practice to be skeptical of what we read and hear. Social media is no better than gossip and not to be trusted. I believe it is the responsibility of the public to do its due diligence with the media and their government. If there is a censorship regime, bring it up to their representative, or take action themselves through the courts. Reading through some of the testimony on the hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government website gave me the impression there was smoke, but no fire. It seemed primarily, but not exclusively, a COVID-generated subject. We all know there were a lot of misinformed people posting alarms about the pandemic and its useful and harmful treatments. This is normal for the general public on social media and why we are well served by government subject matter experts presenting the facts and the best courses of action.

People hospitalized for COVID-19 had a 60 percent higher risk of death compared with those hospitalized for seasonal influenza. Vaccines and prophylactics saved millions worldwide. This is why I agree with government urging media to take precautions about spreading bad information, like injecting bleach or using dosages of medicine used for horses. We may not be so lucky next time. The next pandemic may be more fatal and/or more infectious. CISA has info for how we counter bad cyber actors: youtu.be/wx3G-HIboRU?si=qVoaSNoIwIQ7exl4.

Dennis Whitcomb, Blue Lake

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