Pressure builds against doctors peddling false virus claims

They have decried COVID-19 as a hoax, promoted unproven treatments and pushed bogus claims about the vaccine, including that the shots magnetize the human body.

While there have been some fringe elements spouting crazy stuff, the vast majority of dissenting medical professionals have voiced legitimate concerns based on facts.

As usual, corrupt government and media outlets highlighting minority fringe kooks and painting the well informed fact based dissenters with the same brush. Criminal.

Why would these medical professionals risk ridicule and deregistration if they didn't feel they had legitimate concerns?

Two of the main things argued against by medical professional dissenters have been harsh lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Japan has done neither of these and dealt with Covid very sucessfully. So, are the Japanese stupid and relying on misinformation or do they and those in the west who think similarly have a valid point?

While there have been some fringe elements spouting crazy stuff, the vast majority of dissenting medical professionals have voiced legitimate concerns based on facts.

That would only apply if they presented validated scientific data in their arguments, instead they just repeat the false claims of antivaxxer groups without any primary source report to defend their irrational position. That is the opposite of something based on facts.

usual, corrupt government and media outlets highlighting minority fringe kooks and painting the well informed fact based dissenters with the same brush. Criminal.

Since you have been unable to provide any example of this supposedly scientific based dissenters the only logical explanation is that they don't exist.

Why would these medical professionals risk ridicule and deregistration if they didn't feel they had legitimate concerns?

There is nothing uncommon about that, it happens all the time for other things, why would a epidemiologist have his articles retracted, why would doctors prescribe antibiotics for viral infections? why would a nurse purposefully spoil drugs she thinks are "bad"?

Reasons are plenty, lack of professional capacity, desire for profit from unneffective things they sell, to get their names on the news, huge egos that make it impossible for them to accept they may be mistaken. These kind of things are always present in any kind of professional activity (hopefully in a tiny minority), why would doctors be different?

@Virusrex

Two of the main things argued against by medical professional dissenters have been harsh lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Japan has done neither of these and dealt with Covid very sucessfully. So, are the Japanese stupid and relying on misinformation or do they and those in the west who think similarly have a valid point?

Based on medical facts Japan agrees with western dissenters on these two points. What do you think?

Concerned CitizenToday  08:55 am JST

Two of the main things argued against by medical professional dissenters have been harsh lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Japan has done neither of these and dealt with Covid very sucessfully. So, are the Japanese stupid and relying on misinformation or do they and those in the west who think similarly have a valid point?

'Successful' maybe, but many people have died and now have lifetime illness as a result of COVID in Japan.

Better than the US and the UK but they really were the worst places of all.

Japan would have faired a lot better had they had lockdowns - they could have saved many lives (e.g. New Zealand). They didn't need a vaccine mandate in Japan because they were lucky to get a social meme in action (i.e. people in Japan will do what everyone else is doing).

To all those saying there are any valid arguments based on the scientific fact that COVID vaccines are unsafe to the majority, this is pure delusion and misinformation.

Based on medical facts Japan agrees with western dissenters on these two points. What do you think?

Provide proof of this being the case, Japan has never agreed to this, what has happened is that almost universal obedience to vaccination and social distancing measures have made hard lockdowns and vaccine mandates (or mask mandates) unnecessary to reach a very high percentage of the population taking the measures, people not needing to be forced to do something is not the same as those people not doing it.

One of the problems of the people that spread disinformation as the ones in the article is that when unable to disprove something that demonstrate them wrong their "exit" is to make up imaginary claims against the people that bring those arguments as if that

a) was vaid, and

b) had any importance on the veracity of the arguments that proved them wrong.

Obviously neither of those things are true.

An easy way to see when this happens is to ask proof this happening, the false claims peddlers will never provide it, because there is none, but will ask anyway for people to believe them, just because.

This action is past due. They are lucky they are not going to jail. So far.

Many in America are abiding by the mandates for the most part. Trust me. Today I walked intoWalmart without a mask as did many others. No one is wearing a mask in local bars.

Virusrex

adherenace to social distancing? What part of Japan are you from, seen zero of that here in Japan since the first SOE.

While there have been some fringe elements spouting crazy stuff, the vast majority of dissenting medical professionals have voiced legitimate concerns based on facts.

Exactly, but just because they disagree they're denied access to a public platform. The British Medical Journal for crying out loud has had to write an open letter to Facebook to stop them being censored

The BMJ commissioned an investigative reporter to write up the story for our journal. The article was published on 2 November, following legal review, external peer review and subject to The BMJ’s usual high level editorial oversight and review.[1]

But from November 10, readers began reporting a variety of problems when trying to share our article. Some reported being unable to share it. Many others reported having their posts flagged with a warning about “Missing context ... Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.” Those trying to post the article were informed by Facebook that people who repeatedly share “false information” might have their posts moved lower in Facebook’s News Feed. Group administrators where the article was shared received messages from Facebook informing them that such posts were “partly false.”

Readers were directed to a “fact check” performed by a Facebook contractor named Lead Stories.[2]

We find the “fact check” performed by Lead Stories to be inaccurate, incompetent and irresponsible.

-- It fails to provide any assertions of fact that The BMJ article got wrong

-- It has a nonsensical title: “Fact Check: The British Medical Journal Did NOT Reveal Disqualifying And Ignored Reports Of Flaws In Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Trials”

-- The first paragraph inaccurately labels The BMJ a “news blog”

-- It contains a screenshot of our article with a stamp over it stating “Flaws Reviewed,” despite the Lead Stories article not identifying anything false or untrue in The BMJ article

-- It published the story on its website under a URL that contains the phrase “hoax-alert”

https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2635/rr-80?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=V6EJeXljrKV5RwDpDDnnXIGLZi.wJzEdTIzMiodXUhs-1639974107-0-gaNycGzND1E

Who knows what else is being censored? Facebook moderators aren't highly qualified medical researchers and are causing more problems than they claim to be solving by obstructing public dissemination of scientific work.

If antivaxxers provided just one solid piece of proof to back up their claims almost everyone would join them. I know I don't want to take any vaccines, comply with lockdowns, wear a mask. That's just the only safe way to deal with the pandemic. 'Doing your own research' is about as good as taking life advice from a drunk guy at a bar.

adherenace to social distancing? What part of Japan are you from, seen zero of that here in Japan since the first SOE.

By occidental standards Japan normal situation is already strongly into "social distancing" territory, with the pandemic a lot of measures are being still in place that would be unthinkable in other places because "freedom". People are not living in normal circumstances as you would like to believe, that (and vaccination) is enough to tilt the balance towards less transmission.

One last thing before I go away today. I am so so happy to be an honest person who seeks the truth and nothing but the truth, and not be a person who is otherwise. I can not fathom being otherwise.

People can be honest and do terrible things because of being also mistaken, rejecting the best tool available to check if you are or not wrong would mean for people to be willingly wrong, so not so honest after all.

Exactly, but just because they disagree they're denied access to a public platform. The

Lies, distorted information and plain disinformation have no right to access a public forum, they contribute to nothing. If people are being censored for spreading false information (as described in the article) their claim lack all merit.