No, I'm serious. I don't troll or lie on HN.
> I refuse to believe that you both understand the reason behind telling people not to wear masks at the very beginning and yet lack the critical thinking skills to realize they're one of the best resources for covid recommendations in the world.
I understand their reasoning for trying to downplay masks. It wasn't good reasoning, but I see what their thought process probably was. But they didn't think ahead to the 2nd-order affects of ruining their credibility like that. Once they demonstrated that they're willing to put neutral data under the heel of PR concerns, then it is perfectly fair to see subsequent messaging from them as more of the same. I updated my priors.
I'm not saying WHO is wrong now. I'm just saying they're not reliable. They are valuable if you're looking for data, but you better verify it and cross-check it. And you have to now consider possible alternative explanations for any message they put out there. That's my critical thinking skills at work.
My trust in public figures and institutions (and NGOs) will return when I see them speaking more transparently. For example, "We don't know enough yet to determine if face masks reduce Covid risk, for the wearer or for others around them."
Oh, and trying to save masks for healthcare workers by denying their effectiveness could never have worked anyway. As soon as it was apparent the workers all were masked up 24/7, the public would simply ask, "Why?".