Mainstream doctors and scientists who expressed dissenting COVID-19-related views reported censorship and suppression by media and medical authorities in a recent study.
The qualitative study, published by four Israelis and an Australian on Nov. 1 in the academic journal Minerva by Springer, included the subjective perceptions of 13 doctors and scientists from 7 countries: the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany, Israel, and the Czech Republic.
Nine participants hold an MD or a Ph.D. degree, and four hold both. Most of them are well-known in their fields, with proven research backgrounds and many academic publications. The participants remained anonymous.
The study found that COVID-19 censoring of doctors and researchers with flawless resumes and even senior academic or medical positions “has become a regular phenomenon.”
“The message is that no one is exempt from censorship and no academic or medical status, senior as it may be, is a guaranteed shield against it,” according to the study.
‘Derogatory Comments and Labels’
The media companies included both mainstream media and social media companies.Tactics used by the media included “derogatory comments and labels, often using ostensibly independent ‘third-party’ sources such as anonymous ‘fact-checkers’ or other doctors, and online censorship involving the removal of their social media and internet contents and accounts,” according to the study.
Tactics used by medical authorities included “defamation and intimidation; retraction of scientific papers after publication; dismissal or adverse changes to employment contracts; aggressive actions aimed at sabotaging other significant roles of the individual, such as participating in important committees or serving as editors of scientific journals,” the study said.
Some of the participants reported being subjected to investigations and attempts to revoke their medical license in formal proceedings.
The participants believed that these tactics aimed to distract public attention from their message and deflect the discussion from their criticism or the allegations they raised.
The authors identified that the main limitation of the study is that the findings are based on subjective perspectives.
Dr. Robert Malone, one of the original inventors of the messenger RNA vaccine technology platform, called it a “stunning paper.”
McCullough
The lead author, Yaffa Shir-Raz is a health journalist and risk communication researcher.“Twitter claimed that I violated the community rules after thousands of consistent posts on scientific abstracts, and manuscripts,” he told NTD’s “Capitol Report.”
McCullough said that he’s been providing updates on COVID-19 vaccines and related pandemic issues due to a feeling of responsibility.
“I felt I had the medical authority and professional responsibility to lead the nation. I’ve testified twice now in the U.S. Senate, multiple state Senates,” he said. “I’ve messaged the best I can through the peer-reviewed literature as well as with podcasts and now Substack formats.”
The Epoch Times confirmed that as of Nov. 7 McCullough remains banned on Twitter.