DuckDuckGo Cites Harry Potter Wiki as Explanation for Ringworm | Hacker News Reader

DuckDuckGo Cites Harry Potter Wiki as Explanation for Ringworm

duckduckgo.com

27 pointsnetram8811 comments

Although this in itself is a minor issue, it shows that you can't put your trust in these kinds of automatic fact aggregators.

(Screenshot link in case it is promptly fixed: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/773927790248329286/78...))

FWIW - it isn't entirely wrong, the wiki says: "Ringworm is a disease caused by infection of the skin by fungus, appearing as scaly, ring-shaped patches." then it goes on to describe it in Harry Potter

But yeah should be looked at!

At least the placed ad (in your screenshot) is a good source for anyone looking to pick up some ringworm.

Also I didn't know DDG had ads.

I see Harry Potter in the box, but even worse, WebMD is the #1 organic suggestion and Healthline #2. CDC is #4, Mayo Clinic #3

With suggestions as bad as that I might as well use Google.

What’s wrong with these results? Are not trustworthy?

The first two are content farms optimized for reaching top organic search positions. They get most of their revenue from advertising and selling consumer services. The third one is an actual hospital and research facility. Most of their revenue comes from selling medical services. The fourth one is a federal agency with the budget set by the government.

What would you recommend? Medscape is good for medical stuff, but their news section is horrible.

Certainly the first two are not trustworthy and are sometimes dangerously wrong.

Mayo’s advice is not bad but I think the government (CDC) is better ground truth, especially for public health issues like ringworm.

I noticed this last week, and submitted feedback. Looks like they didn't get around to fixing it

All I got was that reading Harry Potter gives you Ringworm?

> Ringworm is a disease caused by infection of the skin by fungus, appearing as scaly, ring-shaped patches. Fergus Fungal Budge was a wizarding product that was used to treat the ringworm disease on the foot. More at Harry Potter Wiki

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