Twitter’s COVID-19 Censorship Led to Loss of Life, Says Former White House Adviser Dr. Scott Atlas

White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Scott Atlas (R) speaks as Larry Kudlow (L), Director of the United States National Economic Council, listens during a press at the White House, on Sept. 23, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

When discussing censorship, there are often “vague implications” on the effects of that restriction. But by censoring medical science and health policy, “you are killing people,” Dr. Scott Atlas firmly stated in an interview that aired on Newsmakers by NTD and The Epoch Times on Dec. 28.

“Censorship of the correct science and medical information, during this pandemic, absolutely killed people. It prevented people from making intelligent decisions. It prevented people from making the appropriate use of caution,” Atlas alleged of Twitter censoring doctors such as himself.

Furthermore, Atlas charged, Twitter’s censorship was particularly “harmful” and “shocking” because the United States was founded on freedom.

“This kind of censorship was, in my view, unheard of in the United States,” Atlas stated. “It’s reminiscent of everything that we, as a free society and democracy, abhor about countries that are authoritarian, like China, the former USSR and now Russia, North Korea.

“This is the kind of censorship that occurs in those countries. And now it’s occurring in our country.”

Censorship Kills

According to Atlas, censorship at the government’s behest isn’t limited to social media and is far more insidious than first imagined.

“It’s not simply blocking information. It’s also—being less overt about it—it’s limiting the public’s access to information. It’s impugning people who are speaking correct information,” Atlas said.

In Atlas’s view, there was only one acceptable COVID-19 narrative at the height of the pandemic, and that was the one put forward by those in authority, specifically Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies in front of the U.S. Senate on Sept. 14. The director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who became the face of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, announces on Aug. 22 that he plans to retire at the end of the year. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Consequently, when other health authority figures, such as Atlas, advanced conflicting information, the above authorities enlisted help from the media to squash that dissent.

“Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, etc., went to their friends in the media and undermined people like me. Who, in fact, were saying what was correct, what has been validated as being correct this entire time.

“But the reality is, yes, the censorship of science kills people. And it killed people during this pandemic. There’s no doubt about that,” Atlas stated.

Calls for Accountability

According to the latest Rasmussen Reports, 63 percent of “Likely U.S. Voters” want Congress to investigate the FBI’s involvement with social media companies like Twitter.

Unfortunately, Atlas stated, he’s skeptical about any investigation “led by government officials.” Moreover, he doesn’t think a Congressional investigation is enough to fully uncover the collaboration between Big Tech and the government.

“Government investigations are usually political in nature. And even if they aren’t political, they will be perceived as having been political. And once something is perceived as political, you’ve lost a significant percentage of the public in terms of credibility,” Atlas explained.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, in a file photo. Richie Lomba/Dreamstime via TNS

Still, while Atlas doesn’t believe a Congressional investigation is enough, he thinks investigations are necessary to bring the truth about the government working with social media to light.

Plus, Atlas asserted that censorship and collusion would continue unchecked without an investigation.

“It’s necessary to do the investigations because we need the public to know the truth, and investigations are one way to do that,” Atlas said.

Twitter Files

In the latest iteration of the Twitter Files, released on Dec. 26, internal emails published by journalist David Zweig seem to show that Twitter engaged in numerous instances of censorship against health care professionals.

In one instance, Twitter labeled Dr. Martin Kulldorff’s post as misleading because it stated, “Thinking that everyone must be vaccinated is as scientifically flawed as thinking that nobody should. COVID vaccines are important for older high-risk people, and their care-takers. Those with prior natural infection do not need it. Nor children.”

Kulldorff is a prominent epidemiologist and former Harvard Medical School professor.

The Twitter Files show that Twitter took similar action against many prominent physicians and health care professionals when they didn’t adhere to the CDC’s guidance.

Facebook, Google, and Twitter logos are seen in this combination photograph. Reuters

In response to the allegations of collusion between the FBI and Twitter, the FBI stated to Fox News, “The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our traditional, longstanding, and ongoing federal government and private sector engagements, which involve numerous companies over multiple sectors and industries.

“As evidenced in the correspondence, the FBI provides critical information to the private sector in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and their customers.”

Similarly, the FBI National Press Office responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. It stated, “The FBI regularly engages with private sector entities to provide information specific to identified foreign malign influence actors’ subversive, undeclared, covert, or criminal activities.

“It is not based on the content of any particular message or narrative. Private sector entities independently make decisions about what, if any, action they take on their platforms and for their customers after the FBI has notified them.”

Neither Fauci nor Birx responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment regarding Atlas’s claims by the time of publication.