Effective altruism is widely misunderstood, even among its supporters.
A recent paper – The Definition of Effective Altruism by Will MacAskill – lists some of the most common misconceptions.1 It’s aimed at academic philosophers, but works as a general summary.
In short, effective altruism is commonly viewed as being about the moral obligation to donate as much money as possible to evidence-backed global poverty charities, or other measurable ways of making a short-term impact.