Where's the WHO+ telling us that masks are dangerous? Was that not retracted?
> our recommendations are that in the community we don't recommend the use of masks unless you yourself are sick and as a measure to prevent onward spread from you if you are ill. The masks that we recommend are for people who are at home and who are sick and for those individuals who are caring for those people who are home that are sick.
The general advice the WHO gave on masks was
> If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection. [1]
[0] https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/transcr...
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20200329083719/https://www.who.i...
I have a vague memory that they also made similar statements, but I tried to find evidence of that recently and couldn’t find a source. I’d appreciate anybody that could link me to a source if they have it on hand / find one.
However that was before the CDC issued in early april its recommendation to wear masks [1]
[0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/preventing-coronavirus-facemask... [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/0...
The noble lie is typically a regrettable idea. Eventually exposed, it undermines trust in institutions by setting them in opposition to the public.
“We had to lie to you because you wouldn’t have done the right thing otherwise. That is to say, you are bad and we are good.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-cdc-says-americans-don...
mentions that. Not very well sourced though.