I don't always wash meat unless I'm going to season it. For example, pork ribs I wash and pat dry, then rub/season them and let sit for a bit before cooking. I don't think washing or not is going to change the world one way or another for most of us. If the only thing saving you from being poisoned is washing the meat I'd question who you are getting your meat from. If not washing the meat is the only thing saving you from contaminating your kitchen I'd question your cooking skills.

Actually filters need to be washed for two reasons that have nothing to do with removing stuff from the surface.

The first is to make sure that the filter adheres to the funnel and the whole system is warmed to the correct temperature; the second is that (especially with V60 which always seemed to me like a proper chemistry experiment) you have to soak the filter so that none of your carefully weighed water is "wasted" in the filter but goes to extract the coffee from the powder.

In a chemistry lab wetting the filters prior to use is common practice, more so when a vacuum system is used in order to have a good seal.

Sure - but I can tell you there is definitely a “paper” taste that disappears after rinsing. Actually tasting the water after filtering might not be something you do in a lab, but it is something I do in my kitchen!

I generally don't bother with butcher bought meat, or supermarket bought meat, but I always wash game birds inside and out before cooking, as well as checking for feathers missed in the plucking, and making a mental note of where the shot might be.

The chlorine is, of course, entirely harmless, otherwise the EU wouldn't permit its use in bagged salads which aren't even going to be cooked. At the risk of straying into bad OMNI, the ban on chlorine washing of chicken was an entirely political move to protect the (principally French) poultry industry.

Perhaps we are saying the same thing, but I believe the main issue with chlorine rinsing is that leads to the (perhaps unintended) consequence that US abattoirs and the entire animal welfare/farm-to-table chain are of a considerably lower sanitary/hygiene standard than that required in the EU. The chlorine takes care of the problem so we don't have to worry about it.

The only meat that I wash is whole turkeys or chicken to make sure that I've gotten all the liver and other organs out. Fortunately, I have an under the counter sink and use a very light water flow so there's not a lot of splashing but I do make sure everything is clear. Once I'm done, I sanitize all surfaces to make sure nothing spreads.

It's not the bacteria on the chicken that's the concern. It's the bacteria that's left in your sink. If you wash meat, scrub out your sink with soap and water immediately afterward. And then of course, while people are cooking, maybe they set a wet or dirty dish in the sink temporarily, then transfer it to a dishwasher or whatever. That's how bacteria spreads.

I'm not some kind of clean freak about bacteria. If there was a benefit to washing the meat, I'd do it. But, scientifically, there's no benefit and only a possible downside. So I don't add an extra step of washing.

I gave one example above of how bacteria can spread. It looks like others have answered your question though too. Personally, I tend to be pretty clean while I cook, so I doubt washing or not would make a huge difference for me, although I don't see the point in doing it. And if you do, you should scrub out your sink afterward, depending how interested you are in food safety...personally I tend to follow food safety procedures a lot more closely when I'm cooking for others than I do when cooking just for myself. :)

Game birds, I can understand rinsing, because of feathers and shot.