30s Summary

At the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 conference, experts expressed concern over inaccuracies in academic research about Bitcoin, leading to misinformation in the media, public misunderstanding, and government decisions detrimental to Bitcoin. The panel stressed that incorrect studies on Bitcoin emissions and mining can create a false narrative resulting in public misinformation. They noted that journalists often don’t have time to fact-check academic sources, leading to propagation of these inaccuracies. They warned that such misinformation influences decision-making, as seen in proposed laws in Sweden targeting the Bitcoin mining industry.

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During the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2024 conference, experts voiced concerns about how mistakes in academic research spread false information about Bitcoin. The chat panel “Beyond Resistance Money” highlighted how these errors have tricked the media into spreading inaccurate info, which has ultimately led to government decisions that aren’t in the best interest for Bitcoin.

Panelists explained how incorrect studies about Bitcoin emissions and mining can cause the media and politicians to create false narratives. This has the potential to lead to misinformation among the public.

A topic that caused major concern was how wrong academic research can mislead about Bitcoin. Yale-NUS College professor Andrew Bailey talked about an influential academic paper that falsely reported BTC emissions data. He pointed out that despite being wrong, nobody seems to question this and it is often seen as credible information. This error lead to a misunderstanding of Bitcoin in the public eye.

Journalism’s role in spreading false info was also discussed. Wyoming University philosophy associate professor Bradley Rettler added that journalists often aren’t given enough time to fact-check or fully understand academic sources, which leads to the spread of these inaccuracies. If journalists start with poor quality info, it ends up as poor quality news stories.

Another panelist, Craig Warmke, a member of the Bitcoin Policy Institute, warned that misinformation has serious, real-world effects, especially when it comes to government decision making. He noted that dodgy laws have been proposed in Sweden to get rid of the BTC mining industry completely. Warmke ended the meeting by suggesting that academia, which historically has been against Bitcoin, should start supporting it instead.

Source: Cointelegraph