"Ivermectin saved Japan from Covid-19" was always bunk
Misinformation dissection!
At the end of 2021, ivermectin advocates leaned heavily into a particular narrative: that ivermectin adoption caused a steep decline in Covid-19 cases in Japan. In this video, we revisit that story with the benefit of hindsight, and use the example to understand how misinformation works.
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Intro/Outro music: "Do it again", by Enzo Orefice. B-roll and music licenced via Storyblocks.
▬ Contents ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 Prequel
3:04 Part 1: the August 2021 Covid peak in Japan
4:45 Part 2: The explanations in 2021
5:32 How the "ivermectin miracle" story originated from the far-right fringe
12:45 The "probably related to the Olympics" story
15:16 Part 3: What we know in 2023 with hindsight
15:56 Ivermectin was not used for Covid-19 in Japan
20:40 Scientific support for the Olympic + vaccination explanation
24:30 Part 4: Why the "ivermectin miracle" story was always misinformation
27:26 The misinformation "tells"
33:22 How scientific misinformation and pseudoscience use the same methods
▬ References ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Watari et al "Incidence of and Ivermectin Prescription Trends for COVID-19 in Japan" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
▬ Disclaimers ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
This video is for educational purposes only.
I have no conflicts of interest.I make my videos on my own time and with my own money and equipment, with no incentives or sponsorship (though you can buy me a coffee).