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“Science works best when we have an open debate.”

Many people lost loved ones and their own health to COVID. Almost no one escaped the pandemic unscathed, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya in no exception. In 2021, he lost a YouTube video. Although he was a pandemic celebrity who rose to the pinnacle of the medical establishment, Dr. Bhattacharya treated the fate of this YouTube video as the focal point of the pandemic. To mourn its loss, he participated in a meeting titled Governor Ron Desantis Holds Roundtable with Public Health Experts to Discuss Big Tech Censorship in which he said

For science to work, you have to have an open exchange of ideas…If you’re going to make an argument that something is misinformation, you should provide an actual argument. You can’t just take it down and say, ‘Oh, it’s misinformation’ without actually giving a reason…Let’s hear the argument, let’s see the evidence that YouTube used to decide it was misinformation. Let’s have a debate. Science works best when we have an open debate.

Dr. Bhattacharya produced a staggering amount of content like this and even took a case about his supposed “censorship” to the Supreme Court. He lost. According to a must-read article By Mike Masnick Trump’s NIH Pick Wants You To Believe He’s A Victim Of Government Censorship:

In the years since the start of the pandemic, Bhattacharya has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the government worked with social media companies to suppress his views. But a recent Supreme Court ruling found no indication that content moderation decisions by tech platforms were made at the government’s behest. To his supporters, Bhattacharya’s supposed status as a victim of government censorship is the key element of his hero’s journey. And it’s simply not true.

The problem is there’s basically zero evidence to support Bhattacharya and his supporters’ claims of censorship. It is true that some internet sites appeared to remove or limit access to the document. But, as with medical professionals not being sure how best to handle Covid, the same was true of social media companies, which struggled with how best to handle the spread of potentially dangerous information that could have resulted in harm to users.

Many companies chose, of their own free will and as they were allowed as private actors, to downplay certain information that they felt might do more harm than good. That is their own First Amendment-protected right as private entities in the United States.

“I’m grateful to the @reason foundation for honoring me with its Flame of Freedom award this year.”

Despite this, many people and organizations were eager to promote the myth of Dr. Bhattacharya as a brave scientist whose censored social media content was the central storyline of the pandemic. One such organization was Reason, a libertarian group that promoted pandemic disinformation and groupthink and is currently a major contributor to the COVID Amnesia Project. Some examples of the brilliant wisdom they published included:

Reason even made a YouTube video about Dr. Bhattacharya’s lost 2021 YouTube video.

In 2024, Reason awarded Dr. Bhattacharya the Flame of Freedom award for his perseverance and willingness to bravely make more YouTube videos bemoaning the fate of his lost YouTube video. Dr. Bhattacharya unselfishly dedicated his award to the “millions of people censored in the name of public health.” Millions of people!!!!

A man in a suit and tie smiles while holding a glass award. He is wearing a conference badge around his neck. The background shows a banquet setting with tables, chairs, and a chandelier.

“We’re being threatened to be arrested by these people because we were handing out an editorial.”

Dr. Bhattacharya promised that things would be different once he gained power. “If you don’t have free speech, you cannot have science,” he said. No longer would scientists go to sleep at night, wondering if their YouTube videos would still be there in the morning. Dr. Bhattacharya promised to usher in an era of open scientific inquiry, and enough time has passed that we can judge his performance. Are scientists breathing sighs of relief knowing they can finally speak their minds without fear of retribution?

It doesn’t seem that way to me, and I think it’s vital that we hear from Reason and everyone else who championed Dr. Bhattacharya as a brave victim of horrific censorship. How do they feel he’s doing protecting free speech today? 

Reason seems to be silent on the topic thus far, and if had any integrity they would give the next Flame of Freedom award to one of the many scientists who are taking real risks to stand up to their past Flame of Freedom winner. Here are some potential candidates that Reason has thus far ignored:

As they did with Dr. Bhattacharya, Reason should lavish praise on these brave souls and invite them to speak on the state of free speech under the MAHA/MAGA regime Dr. Bhattacharya embodies. Reason staff and donors richly deserve to listen to a thorough, honest appraisal of everything their past Flame of Freedom winner is doing today. Regardless of their purported “libertarian” principles, this is who they promoted, and this what they helped unleash in the real world. That’s all that matters. 

Maybe, just maybe, it will dawn on some of them that they promoted phony censorship to bring about the real thing.

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  • Dr. Jonathan Howard is a neurologist and psychiatrist who has been interested in vaccines since long before COVID-19. He is the author of "We Want Them Infected: How the failed quest for herd immunity led doctors to embrace the anti-vaccine movement and blinded Americans to the threat of COVID."

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Posted by Jonathan Howard

Dr. Jonathan Howard is a neurologist and psychiatrist who has been interested in vaccines since long before COVID-19. He is the author of "We Want Them Infected: How the failed quest for herd immunity led doctors to embrace the anti-vaccine movement and blinded Americans to the threat of COVID."

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