Scott debunks viral misinformation about false rape accusation rates and provides more accurate estimates, while criticizing the spread of such inaccuracies in feminist circles.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques a viral Buzzfeed article that claims false rape accusations are extremely rare, showing how the article's statistics are severely flawed. He provides a more accurate analysis of false rape accusation rates, estimating they affect between 0.3% to 3% of men in their lifetimes. Scott expresses frustration at how readily such misinformation spreads in feminist circles and urges readers to be extremely skeptical of statistics from these sources. He concludes by discussing the difficulty of dealing with rape accusations given the significant rates of both rape and false accusations.
Shorter summary