I’ve noticed a lot of “straw man” fallacy/rhetorical device in online media surrounding this particular Cochrane review. “The straw man is a fallacy in which a

I’ve noticed a lot of “straw man” fallacy/rhetorical device in online media surrounding this particular Cochrane review. “The straw man is a fallacy in which an opponent's argument is overstated or misrepresented in order to be more easily attacked or refuted.” https://www.thoughtco.com/straw-man-fallacy-1692144 https://www.thoughtco.com/straw-man-fallacy-1692144 I assumed the message that could be taken from the Cochrane review was “there was/is insufficient evidence for the efficacy of masks in public settings to support general mandates”. There is a higher standard to be met for performance when an intervention is mandated than when it is just recommended. If the intervention just might help, people (in the US at least) expect to be freely given the choice whether or not to follow such a recommendation. Hence the heightened interest in this review that suggests the evidence for such an expected level of mask performance to support mask mandates is weak. It seems some of the media and pols want to suggest the review states “masks don’t work”. Surgical masks “work” in operating rooms, firefighters wear “working” masks, OSHA requires masks for certain environments. High-efficiency masks might work very well in a doctor’s waiting rooms. On its face, “masks don’t work” is a silly assertion. It’s a classic straw man. Implying the review states “masks don’t work” suggests the review itself was flawed, and thus distracting and deflecting accountability from those media/politicians who supported (what increasingly seem to have potentially been) unwarranted mask mandates for the general public. It is neither a benign nor accidental error to erroneously suggest the review stated that. It’s a rhetorical smoke screen. The straw man is a rhetorical device as old as the hills and, when you smell it, it’s the smell of intellectual and moral desperation. It’s bad high school debating tactics. It’s both flap and doodle.