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> The children absorbed outlandish ideas, including that the Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards, says Gabriel. "As a young child, you trust your parents.

> The children absorbed outlandish ideas, including that the Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards, says Gabriel. "As a young child, you trust your parents. So you see that as a truth," he says. At what point does someone step in and call this child abuse, at the very least these parents are not capable of raising their children in a safe manner. > Kate Shemirani styles herself as "the Natural Nurse" on social media And therein lies our main issue. People on social media who are amplified and given confirmation biases from the algorithm with basically zero moderation now. Maybe it's callous to say but seems like Darwins law should settle these things.

mnmalst 1y ago
> Maybe it's callous to say but seems like Darwins law should settle these things. This was my thinking as well.
ashoeafoot 1y ago
The algo ironically also could give them feedback about the expected outcomes of those posts. 72 % of People who posted this ceased posting within a year. 33% where disconnected feom loved ones after a loved one passed away following giving this advice. Do you want to continue in rgis path?
- bilekas 1y ago
  The algorithm is self preserving, its goal seems not to inform but to generate engagement, how and what type of engagement seems to be irrelevant and secondary. It's genuinely why I view HN as one of the last bastions of good discussion.
  - ashoeafoot 1y ago
    We engage to feel good with minimal energy invested, so that is what the algo goes for. Imagine if the algo where like the best teacher you ever got, keeping you engaged by going out of your comfort zone , always egging you on like a proud parent. You go"look what i made" and he goes, "look what my boy made".. it could be so good.
more_corn 1y ago
The question of when misinformation is child abuse might be more complicated than you think. Imagine a family brings up their children worshipping the “Sun god” Ra, believing he will guide them in the afterlife, performing rituals and observances of his teachings speaking of always seeking his favor and following his guidance. Absurd, silly, and dangerous Right? Ra is of course made up bullshit invented by some priests in Egypt thousands of years ago. But knock one word off that description (re-read it with “sun” struck through) and people think it’s entirely reasonable to indoctrinate their kids into that system. Indoctrination into the approved made up system of belief is fine. “What is the approved system of belief?” Any sane person will run screaming rather than go on record answering that question.
em-bee 1y ago
At what point does someone step in? at the same time when you tell the children that santa is not real. /s this is what school is for. teaching children to be critical and investigate claims no matter where they come from. incidentally, this is the reason why homeschooling is outlawed in germany. to prevent parents indoctrinating their children without the children getting a chance to learn about alternatives.
- bilekas 1y ago
  > this is what school is for. teaching children to be critical and investigate claims no matter where they come from. This is a really nice idea. If only teachers were paid enough to be able to give their care. In any part of the world.
  - em-bee 1y ago
    sadly very true. the point that matters here is that the fact that these people believed in these theories is an indication of the failure of our education system.
- madaxe_again 1y ago
  That is absolutely not what school is for. It would be really nice if it were, but it is not. School is for creating the next generation of obedient workers - the entire modern model of schooling emerged from the Industrial Revolution in order to produce better factory workers. Claims are handed to you at school as truth. Questioning them will get you detention. Ironically, I am homeschooling my daughter because I want her to be a critical thinker who demands hard evidence for anything presented to her - not someone who doesn’t know which century the Second World War happened in, and that it was maybe the Chinese or the Australians who started it, not sure, but they were 100% bad and we were 100% good. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but these are the educational outcomes where we live, where most kids finish school at 13. I could barely pick my jaw up from the floor when witnessing this debate. I had a handful of teachers who encouraged independent thought - the majority however couldn’t explain or justify what they taught except with a meter ruler or a dunce’s cap.

mnmalst 1y ago

> Maybe it's callous to say but seems like Darwins law should settle these things. This was my thinking as well.

ashoeafoot 1y ago

The algo ironically also could give them feedback about the expected outcomes of those posts. 72 % of People who posted this ceased posting within a year. 33% where disconnected feom loved ones after a loved one passed away following giving this advice. Do you want to continue in rgis path?

bilekas 1y ago
The algorithm is self preserving, its goal seems not to inform but to generate engagement, how and what type of engagement seems to be irrelevant and secondary. It's genuinely why I view HN as one of the last bastions of good discussion.
- ashoeafoot 1y ago
  We engage to feel good with minimal energy invested, so that is what the algo goes for. Imagine if the algo where like the best teacher you ever got, keeping you engaged by going out of your comfort zone , always egging you on like a proud parent. You go"look what i made" and he goes, "look what my boy made".. it could be so good.

more_corn 1y ago

The question of when misinformation is child abuse might be more complicated than you think. Imagine a family brings up their children worshipping the “Sun god” Ra, believing he will guide them in the afterlife, performing rituals and observances of his teachings speaking of always seeking his favor and following his guidance. Absurd, silly, and dangerous Right? Ra is of course made up bullshit invented by some priests in Egypt thousands of years ago. But knock one word off that description (re-read it with “sun” struck through) and people think it’s entirely reasonable to indoctrinate their kids into that system. Indoctrination into the approved made up system of belief is fine. “What is the approved system of belief?” Any sane person will run screaming rather than go on record answering that question.

em-bee 1y ago

At what point does someone step in? at the same time when you tell the children that santa is not real. /s this is what school is for. teaching children to be critical and investigate claims no matter where they come from. incidentally, this is the reason why homeschooling is outlawed in germany. to prevent parents indoctrinating their children without the children getting a chance to learn about alternatives.

bilekas 1y ago
> this is what school is for. teaching children to be critical and investigate claims no matter where they come from. This is a really nice idea. If only teachers were paid enough to be able to give their care. In any part of the world.
- em-bee 1y ago
  sadly very true. the point that matters here is that the fact that these people believed in these theories is an indication of the failure of our education system.
madaxe_again 1y ago
That is absolutely not what school is for. It would be really nice if it were, but it is not. School is for creating the next generation of obedient workers - the entire modern model of schooling emerged from the Industrial Revolution in order to produce better factory workers. Claims are handed to you at school as truth. Questioning them will get you detention. Ironically, I am homeschooling my daughter because I want her to be a critical thinker who demands hard evidence for anything presented to her - not someone who doesn’t know which century the Second World War happened in, and that it was maybe the Chinese or the Australians who started it, not sure, but they were 100% bad and we were 100% good. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but these are the educational outcomes where we live, where most kids finish school at 13. I could barely pick my jaw up from the floor when witnessing this debate. I had a handful of teachers who encouraged independent thought - the majority however couldn’t explain or justify what they taught except with a meter ruler or a dunce’s cap.