At the end of February, it was reported that many Americans won't drink Corona beer because of coronavirus. It has also been reported that sales of Corona beer have increased by 5%, and counting. Without getting into the mire of "Fake News", why do we as humans tend to like and believe stories that are reported as facts, when in fact, the basis is actually opinions sought from people who, when asked, appear to be systematically biased.

 

Perhaps it is the pressure of creating continuous content in a very competitive environment that provides motivation to seek out stories that are felt to be news-worthy. The greater the pressure, the greater the willingness to compromise our principles. Part of the problem is the level of responsibility that media outlets should take, but the more interesting area is how come so many people, when asked in the original survey, conducted by telephone, answered that they would avoid buying Corona beer due to coronavirus. We don't know how the question was phrased, but it could have been quite leading, such as "Will you avoid buying Corona Beer due to the coronavirus", which implies that there is a connection. People may at the instant they were asked, think that they had missed something, that perhaps there was a connection, and did not want to appear ignorant. Perhaps some people genuinely thought that there was a relationship based on the name. Others still may have thought that there was benefit in saying that they would avoid it, perhaps wanting to drive down beer prices, after all, many who are now working or self-isolating at home, are likely to be drinking more beer, so driving down the price of their favorite brand may be a good way to go.

The opposite view can be taken. A 5% increase in the demand for Corona beer may indeed show that people are avoiding it, as sales of other beers have gone up by 20% in the same period. Is this true? No, that's just made up, but many people reading this will think this sounds reasonable, and in a sense it becomes true. After all, many of us are expecting to be at home more in the coming weeks, self-isolating, so we need to get supplies in early. I expect that demand for food and beverages at a retail level has increased significantly over the last couple of weeks. The media influences our thoughts one way, then another, they gain either way.

Lessons can be learned from this. For sure, the first thing is that no "stories" should be accepted from anyone, without having the data behind it. Secondly, even with data in evidence, you need to understand the context behind the data. There is no value in considering any single data point in isolation. A third lesson that we can learn is that we are all wasting a huge portion of our lives reading and reacting to what is often essentially, fiction.

As with the media reports about Corona beer, there should be better responsibility taken for the incorrect reporting of "facts", but the more interesting part is why people are motivated to provide incorrect accounts of what is happening, even to the point of manipulating the data to do so. We have to bear in mind that this is not an isolated case. There are countless examples where it happens, and it is an epidemic across the country, far more than the coronavirus in fact.

 

Something to think about as you sit back and sip that Corona..... Cheers!