Staff Reports
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prominent doctors in the US were banned from Twitter for spreading misinformation. The actions were carried out under the direction of government officials.
Still trying to process my emotions on learning that @twitter blacklisted me. The thought that will keep me up tonight: censorship of scientific discussion permitted policies like school closures & a generation of children were hurt.
1/2— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) December 9, 2022
It was initially believed that the actions were based on the claims made by the doctors, but it has been revealed that they were actually disciplined for criticizing the government's approach to the situation.
30. A review of Twitter log files revealed that an internal audit, conducted after Bostom’s attorney contacted Twitter, found that only 1 of Bostom’s 5 violations were valid. pic.twitter.com/ohlmHFOuQX
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
28. Whether by humans or algorithms, content that was contrarian but true was still subject to getting flagged or suppressed
This tweet was labeled “Misleading,” even though the owner of this account, @_euzebiusz_, a physician, was referring to the results of a published study pic.twitter.com/i1MeLFvYQt
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
24. In my review of internal files, I found countless instances of tweets labeled as “misleading” or taken down entirely, sometimes triggering account suspensions, simply because they veered from CDC guidance or differed from establishment views.
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
20. Exhibit A: Dr. Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, tweeted views at odds with US public health authorities and the American left, the political affiliation of nearly the entire staff at Twitter. pic.twitter.com/K3kwQIdzHG
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
22. But Kulldorff’s statement was an expert’s opinion—one which also happened to be in line with vaccine policies in numerous other countries. Yet it was deemed “false information” by Twitter moderators merely because it differed from CDC guidelines.
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) December 26, 2022
Many of the country's top doctors, who were graduates from some of the most prominent medical schools, were also prevented from participating in public discussions about the pandemic.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Town Hall.
