Carmel (she/her)
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ccsrafalo.bsky.social
Carmel (she/her)
@ccsrafalo.bsky.social
Alto2 × sometimes writer. Chronic illness, advocacy, science, cats. Still trying to figure out what I wanna be when I grow up. Views = mine.
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
It's hard to stop misinformation once the cat is out of the bag, but studies show that one effective tactic (called inoculation theory, fittingly) is to teach people how to identify tricks used to spread misinformation in the first place, which is why it's important we talk about examples like this.
August 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Given that presenting legitimate sources out of context has been shown to be a prevalent and effective misinformation tactic, it is critical that news editors stop undermining their science writers by using clickbait headlines that strip articles of much needed nuance and context.
August 4, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
For those of us that aren't news editors, we can help combat this form of misinformation by teaching each other to spot it. When you see a news article from a legitimate source being presented out of context to serve a bias narrative, highlight what the article is actually conveying in reality.
August 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
One of the most effective misinformation tactics antivaxxers use is to quote legitimate news sources out of context in order to convey a narrative.

Studies suggest that news editors often contribute to this problem by publishing clickbait headlines that are easily weaponized by antivaxxers.
August 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Meta’s CEO has become one of the biggest landowners in Hawaii, growing his property’s footprint and erecting new mysterious buildings. www.wired.com/story/mark-z...
Mark Zuckerberg Is Expanding His Secretive Hawaii Compound. Part of It Sits Atop a Burial Ground
Meta’s CEO has become one of the biggest landowners in Hawaii, growing his property’s footprint and erecting new mysterious buildings.
www.wired.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Hey everyone, go check out this rad @kickstarter project: Stories From The Motel Sick www.kickstarter.com/projects/mic...
Stories From The Motel Sick
A genre-bending anthology about a metaphysical motel featuring rooms with every possible theme in the universe
www.kickstarter.com
July 4, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
We can't just tax the rich. We need tax their investment gains.

Right now our tax code values billionaires' paper profits over *your* labor. Want to make America a fairer country for the working class? Here's how we do it: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Even sky-high income tax rates won’t stop the relentless rise of the richest
Tackling America's wealth gap will require more powerful tactics.
www.motherjones.com
July 1, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Life is wild right now because the world is ending but you’ve still got to get up and do the thing you’d be doing anyway, as if the world isn’t ending
June 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
The repression of trans people is not, by and large, a grassroots outpouring of hatred from the American people. It's something that's been carefully planted and tended over years by a handful of media people and their pet reporters.
Heightened Scrutiny, a very good doc about the Supreme Court case that was just ruled on, does an impeccable and infuriating job laying out just how culpable the NYT and Atlantic are for the nation’s transphobia www.avclub.com/sundance-202...
June 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
To remove vaccines from ACIP guidelines, which seems to be the end goal here, is effectively a ban. If a vaccine is not recommended, Medicare/Medicaid and private insurance can refuse to cover it. Few people can afford to pay for the cost out of pocket.

RFK Jr's end game is to ban vaccines!!!
June 9, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
I was a medic at the Santa Ana protests in OC today.

I watched police fire tear gas, flash bangs, & rubber bullets into crowds of men, women, & children.

Other medics and I were clearly marked with red crosses, and the police were targeting us.

One of the most fucked up things I’ve ever seen.
June 10, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
This live blog made me tear up! I am so grateful for @thesicktimes.bsky.social covering long covid awareness events! I have seen mass unmasked events being shared all over my networks, let’s uplift these covid aware events led by some of the most kind and courageous organizers across the world.
Live blog: International demonstrations ignite for Long COVID Awareness Day - The Sick Times
Demonstrations for International Long COVID Awareness Day have sparked around the globe. Whether raising awareness about the disease in public or from their homes, people with Long COVID and their all...
thesicktimes.org
March 18, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Because I have profound respect for nature, I once looked up the greater purpose that I assumed must be served by the existence of mosquitos, only to learn they in fact serve no purpose that isn't already better served by other entities. We could end mosquitos and be fine.

So, billionaires...
March 11, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
It takes two minutes to make a difference.
Don’t Let Telehealth Expire on December 31
Text SIGN PQHKWC to 50409 to send this to your officials.
resist.bot
December 9, 2024 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
People need to realize that trans people and disabled people are just the frontlines. If they can get the broad public comfortable sacrificing these groups, they’re not going to stop there
Fascists aren't just going after trans folks cause they hate trans ppl. They know for a fact that liberals won't risk anything real to protect trans ppl making it an easy way to legally accumulate power to use on everyone else. This is them sharpening their blade on them for y'all.
November 21, 2024 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
My fortune cookie had an ad for napster in it. This is hands down the worst time to be alive
June 17, 2024 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
People with no empathy always think they’re smarter than everyone else
June 17, 2024 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Hey @sfwa.bsky.social members:

Are you interested in middle grade and YA? Come join us for a zoom hangout to chat about it!

June 24, 2024 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Pacific Time

events.sfwa.org/events/sfwa-...
SFWA Middle-Grade and YA Writers Meet-up - Nebula Awards Conference Online
Passcode: 233600
events.sfwa.org
June 17, 2024 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
I’m a brooding weirdo but the people who became convinced that elementary schoolers were using cat boxes are definitely not happier, better-adjusted, or more moderated.
Lol, not in my experience.
April 6, 2024 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
Anti-maskers: “We should be free to choose to do what we want.”

Also anti-maskers: “I don’t feel comfortable sitting next to somebody with a mask on.”

Hypocrites.
'Yellowstone' star Forrie J. Smith says he was 'kicked off' flight for refusing to sit next to masked passenger
'I just told them I didn’t feel comfortable about sitting next to somebody that had to wear a mask, and I’m off the plane,' Smith said in a video posted on Instagram Saturday.
www.nbcnews.com
March 25, 2024 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
“People who are still taking COVID precautions seriously have every right to be angry about being abandoned by public-health officials and experts. The very real pain that many people are experiencing has not been sufficiently acknowledged.” -me to @time.com
COVID-Cautious Americans Feel Abandoned
There's a growing rift forming between COVID-19 experts and the COVID-cautious public.
time.com
March 27, 2024 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
CDC's recommendations for farmers re: bird flu outbreak in the US

1️⃣ Wear N95 respirators, eye protection, and gloves, and wash hands to reduce risk of infection when handling animals
2️⃣ Train workers to use PPE correctly
April 5, 2024 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Carmel (she/her)
If we could could only see cats in zoos we'd be like "OMGGG THEY'RE LIKE TINY TIGERS AND PANTHERS I WANT ONE SOOOO BAD" but since we see them all the time we tend to take them for granted. Don't make that mistake. Marvel at your tiny tiger every day.
January 15, 2024 at 7:36 AM
my discovery of the day is that the bass line and rhythm of the chorus in "funkytown" is almost exactly the same as the opening of "the changeling" by the doors
January 15, 2024 at 6:00 PM