Well, That’s Debatable
In early summer 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a democratic primary challenger to President Biden for the 2024 election, appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast. Kennedy is strongly opposed to vaccines and discussed his views on how vaccines cause harm. In response, Peter Hotez, a renowned vaccine researcher, criticized his views, the podcast, and Spotify, the platform on which the podcast appears, for not doing enough to “stop misinformation.” Rogan then offered to donate $100,000 to a charity of Hotez’s choosing if he would appear on the podcast alongside Kennedy for a debate about vaccines. Hotez refused, but soon others, like Elon Musk, began offering additional larger amounts to charity if Hotez would agree to a debate. So far Hotez agreed to appear on the podcast, but he has refused to engage in a debate with Kennedy.
Part of the reason for this refusal is that Hotez and others say that ‘debate’ is not the way science works. Findings are supported by evidence and then presented. But the deeper resistance to engaging Kennedy on this issue is not about vaccines specifically, but instead is about the claim that ideas that are considered conspiracies and misinformation are not legitimate views that are deserving of debate. Responding to such claims, according to this argument, legitimizes ideas that are clearly and unequivocally false. It also provides a platform for misinformation that can be quite harmful. Others respond that although we might not like to admit it, lots of people believe in conspiracies. Ignoring these views and making no effort to refute them is itself dangerous. The way to fight misinformation is not to de-platform it, but instead to engage it and demonstrate that it is false.
Education researchers Paula McAvoy and Diana Hess draw a distinction between what they call ‘open’ and ‘closed’ questions. They say, “The open–closed distinction rests on whether there are multiple and competing reasonable answers (open) or whether there is an agreed-upon answer (closed).” Thus, questions like ‘Should women have the right to vote?’ or ‘Is smoking harmful?’ are closed, and not subject to debate, while other questions like ‘How do we make a more just society?’ or ‘Is an experimental cancer cure effective?’ remain open. This distinction is helpful, but there may be topics that are not clearly either open or closed, or even more significantly, some may consider a particular question as closed, while others see it as open.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What are the responsibilities, if any, of social media platforms that enable the spread of disinformation?
Are there certain ideas, like conspiracy theories, , that should not be engaged or debated? Why or why not?
How do we decide which ideas are open for debate, and which ideas are closed?
References
[1] The New York Times (Opinion), “It’s Not Possible to ‘Win’ an Argument With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
[4] McAvoy, Paula, and Diana Hess. "Classroom deliberation in an era of political polarization." Curriculum Inquiry 43:1 (2013), 38.
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