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Thursday 15 October 2020

Carole Malone - Not A Nobel Laureate

Back in July, I noted that Carole Malone, the UK’s most unappealing pundit, had been sounding off against wearing a face covering. This was because she had tried to wear one, and as a result claimed to have suffered elevated levels of perspiration. She was also finding it difficult to talk, which many might think of as a good thing.


So it should have been no surprise at all to see Ms Malone espousing that same disapproval when appearing on Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 show today, perhaps as a follow-on controversy generator to increasingly minor thesp Laurence Fox, whose performance yesterday alongside Yasmin Alibhai Brown was less than distinguished.

The subject was the Covid-19 pandemic; therefore masks would come into it. First off was sage advice from GP Sarah Jarvis, who you can tell as she’s a doctor. “You are 20 times less likely to spread the virus outside than inside, but then again, the very high risk areas have got a risk - of a number of people infected - which is 20 times higher than the lowest risk areas. So actually you’re getting the same protection from wearing masks outside in the high risk areas as you’re getting from wearing them inside in very low risk areas”.


Ms Malone wasn’t having all that straightforward maths stuff, because she knew better. In order to show the superiority of her argument, she talked more loudly than Dr Jarvis, and quoted Carl Heneghan, who was in the retelling promoted to being “arguably one of this country’s top epidemiologists” (not really). She cited his claim that wearing a face covering was “not an evidence based decision”. Femi Oluwole was not persuaded.

Two things. Centre for Disease Control, World Health Organisation, the Lancet, the British Medical Association …”. Carole was not having that. “Where’s their evidence?” Femi was not put off. “The fact that several studies have been done that show … States in America where mask wearing was introduced had lower rates of infection”. And there was more.


That’s happened across the board in several different countries. But the crucial thing that we need to get our [heads] around is - yes, the evidence that a mask will protect the wearer is sketchy, but the evidence the mask will prevent transmission to others, that is … established. And the crucial thing here is, people need to get that this is about protecting other people. Because people think it’s about protecting yourself, they’re walking around without a mask, thinking they’re being brave”. Got it in one.

Ms Malone also turned her hand to Brexit, about which she also knows more than everyone else put together. And once again, she got it wrong, with Oluwole noting that she “said UK made up 50% of the EU's exports … A) I'm sorry I only said ‘I don't think that's true at all’. I wasn't ready for a lie that big … B) EU is 50% of UK imports. Thinking that's the same thing, says SO much about the Brexiteer mindset”. So it does.


Meanwhile, back on the Covid-19 pandemic, she declared that only five people had become infected with the virus twice; an actual doctor challenging that was summarily shouted down with “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT”. Thus the low bar at which broadcast debate is set is shown for all to see. And that’s down to the likes of Carole Malone.

Would it be any more trouble just to stick to informed pundits? Don’t all shout at once.


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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just the thought of that woman perspiring is enough to make me lose my lunch.

Yeuk.

Anonymous said...

It’s actually a pretty appalling show. Tho Depressing is a better word to be fair. They bring these people by my the bucketload, noisy bigots I mean. Equally once the phone lines open callers mostly seem to be OAPs or disgruntled Brexiters from Kent, disgruntled because we havnt actually left yet. The Scots public school educated co presenter hasn’t got much to say about anything bar veganism or chocolate, and Jeremy seems to think disturbing shirts and writhing about with hola hoops are what viewers want. Never mind it’s bailiffs under the hammer from 11.15 ... channel 5, don’tcha just love it ... And to think the bloke once worked on newsnight ...

Anonymous said...

It deeply disturbs me that the media is allowing monumental dipshits to pontificate on medical matters and spread disinformation to ordinary people. Is inexcusable and any muppet who uses the 'both sides' excuse knows full well they don't believe that, otherwise we'd see a republican on every Royal story, a proper socialist on every economics story, a columnist who isn't a fucking idiot on every story featuring a fucking idiot columnist....

Malone is just downright repellent. Remember reading her nonsense when she wrote for the Mirror and she was always going on about how terribly illiterate the modern Yoof is, unlike years ago when we were all properly educated thanks to Grammar schools.

Which is strange because Bob Hoskins first telly role was in On The Move, a 1970s educational drama made to promote adult literacy. You can find clips of it online - clearly there were enough adults with severe literacy issues to have made it a popular program which kind of invalidates her own thesis.

Still Malone and basic research... not really a thing.




Anonymous said...

-Would it be any more trouble just to stick to informed pundits?-

"Today we are discussing advances in semiconductor design and looking at how modern factories can make chips with 5+ billion transistors that power the latest smartphones and other tech. We were going to get Jim Keller and Dr Lisa Su to come on the programme, but they kept using big words which creeped our researcher out, so here's Sue Cook and some bloke off Twitter called JimBrexitisBrilliant..."

Anonymous said...

Well she appeals to me, and you know you would . .. ...

Idiot's Lantern said...

Vine's BBC Radio 2 show was bad enough. One day he introduced a trio as 'Doctors' to talk about healthy eating and they claimed that the human body doesn't need salt. One of the 'doctors' provided 'proof' by saying that sweat contains salt and it's the body's way of getting rid of salt. Vine, or someone in the studio, should have wondered about saline drips for people who are dehydrated but there was no response.
It turned out that the three guests were not medical doctors but held PhDs in nutrition from an unaccredited university in the US and were visiting the UK to peddle products.
Read Ben Goldacre's book 'Bad Science' for more examples of 'quacks' pretending to be experts.

Jonathan said...

It's a truly despairing shitshow when you see the likes Carole Malone or Lozza Fox claiming to know more about the science of epidemiology than actual medical doctors..

The sole aim of Malone and her ill informed pals toxic views is drive viewers largely Brexiteers to Channel 5 and their advertisers.

It's a desperately down-market show with a presenter who really can't hide his burning Tory credentials and his embarrassing Dad loud shirts.

iMatt said...

The show really has gone downhill after Matthew Wright left. Guests are booked not for their knowledge. But how 'controversial' they are.

grim northerner said...

Not enough vodka in the world mate...

grim northerner said...

The 5g thing was creeping towards this territory, still might.

Anonymous said...

@19:54

You may but I am sure her Bosnian husband would object. I have to ask, though: is it the racism or the hypocrisy of attacking 'economic migrants' while being married to one that turns you on?