Liberty Lane:
I was sittin’ on the porch yesterday morning, sippin’ my cinnamon tea, when a headline came across my feed that just about knocked me outta my rocker:
“Shingles Might Be Linked to Dementia, Study Finds.”
— The New York Times, no less.
Now look, I ain’t no doctor. But I know fear bait when I see it.
And this one was wrapped in science, sprinkled with half-truths, and served up cold to every elderly person already scared about their memory.
I could practically hear the panic rippling through every group chat with a daughter, a church friend, or a grandbaby in it.
🧠 Let’s Break This Down
Researchers out of Denmark did a big ol’ observational study and found a potential association between shingles and later dementia.
But right there in the fine print — if you read far enough past the scary headline — they admit:
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❌ This doesn’t prove causation
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🧬 Other health issues (like stroke, diabetes, inflammation) might be behind the link
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💊 And here’s the kicker: Folks who took antiviral meds didn’t show any increased risk at all
So tell me this — why didn’t the New York Times lead with that?
🔗 Read the actual study in JAMA Neurology
🔗 Health News and Medical Information You Can Rely on – WellnessPulse will likely have more today
⚠️ This Ain’t Just Sloppy — It’s Dangerous
Here’s what happens when you run a headline like that without context:
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Seniors panic
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Adult children start Googling memory care centers
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Fear takes over reason
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People stop trusting doctors, vaccines, and their own memory
And once that trust gets cracked, it don’t glue back easy.
Wanna know what the real public health crisis is?
It’s not shingles.
It’s manipulation.
🎻 This Ain’t the First Time They Played the Fear Fiddle
This is becoming a pattern. You’ve seen it before — maybe even shared it before.
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In 2022, they said “aspirin might cause dangerous bleeding.” Turns out, it only applied to a specific population. But by the time the clarification came? Folks were tossing their meds.
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They said “meat causes cancer” — but forgot to mention there’s a difference between bologna and brisket.
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They told us “coffee might trigger heart attacks,” then a month later claimed “3 cups a day might help you live longer.”
It’s not journalism anymore.
It’s clickbait with a subscription fee.
And it hurts the people who trust the news most: our elders, our caretakers, and the folks without time to read every study line by line.
💻 Enter Quin Halliwell
Quin:
Liberty’s porch wisdom hits the nail on the head — and I’ll back it up with numbers.
That shingles headline? That’s what happens when data meets desperation for ad revenue.
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The New York Times implied causation. The study never claimed it.
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Antiviral meds erased the risk. That should’ve been the headline.
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And when the nuance gets buried beneath fear, we don’t just lose context — we lose credibility.
Once people realize the media overhyped one medical study, they start doubting the next ten.
And that’s how we end up in a public trust death spiral.
This isn’t an isolated case — it’s a media pattern:
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Exaggerate small risk increases
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Print the scariest version of a stat
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Sprinkle it with vague expert quotes
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Rake in the clicks
Meanwhile, science communication goes out the window — and the American people get left holding the fear.
❤️ Liberty’s Final Word
Don’t you dare mess with our elders.
Don’t you scare my momma into thinkin’ her shingles shot is gonna make her lose her mind.
And don’t you call yourself a reporter if you’re just repurposing panic.
You want to protect people?
Start by respecting their minds.
📣 OUR CALL TO ACTION
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If you’ve got an elder in your life — send them this post.
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If you’re subscribed to fear-mongering media — cancel it.
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If you’re tired of being manipulated by headlines — stick with us.
👉 Share DoWhatMATAs.com — where porch wisdom and data clarity meet.
We don’t just hold the line.
We read between it.