Justice Sotomayor grossly overstated the number of children hospitalized with Covid, “many on ventilators.” Her figure was over 100,000, when the correct figure is 3,500, an overestimate of over 2857%. Besides, these are children who test positive but may be hospitalized for other diseases or injuries, not children who are hospitalized because of Covid.

This is not a minor error; it is an overstatement so great that it must lead the justice to incorrect conclusions. What can we learn from this episode?

• Sotomayor is highly intelligent and highly educated. If she is so seriously misinformed, what chance do ordinary people have to know what is going on?

• Sotomayor knew she would be ruling on vaccine mandates, a highly publicized case. If this is the best she could do to inform herself, what does this say about the media?

• Sotomayor described herself as a “wise Latina.” Aside from being a bit conceited, what did she mean? One definition of “wise” is the ability to use all available information to decide what to do in a way that would be best for all concerned. But what if the information is incorrect? What if “news reports” are in fact propaganda? Then no matter how intelligent and well-intentioned a person may be, she cannot be wise.

You can’t get to your destination if your map app tells you to drive into a river. And you can’t render a wise decision if propaganda media fill your head with misinformation.

https://nypost.com/2022/01/09/cdcs-walensky-corrects-justice-sonia-sotomayors-covid-19-claim/