by Dr Colin Alexander | The selective and strategic overstating of certain issues and understating of others and use of fearmongering rhetoric by governments during the pandemic should be concerning to citizens. It indicates a degree of contempt for the public by officialdom and a disrespect for democratic processes.
by Wilton Alston and Dr Shibrah Jamil | Does the foundation of immunology, epidemiology, and ethics, on which medical decisions have historically been made, support the statement that the unvaccinated are driving the pandemic?
If the Covid-pandemic has taught us anything, it is that democracy has been suspended almost universally across the planet. For more than 500 days, Minister Dlamini-Zuma has governed the minutiae of our lives by decree.
The response to Angelo Ryan’s opinion piece in the Mail & Guardian on “vaccine hesitancy” is more interesting for what it tells you about the state of our captured media, than what it tells you about vaccination. Daily Maverick, Groundup, Bhekisisa and others have once again told us that they are promoting a specific narrative and censoring and demanding that others censor contrary views. Can you trust organisations that tell you that this is how they are conducting the business of journalism to give you accurate information in future? We think not.
The Free Market Foundation awarded PANDA for freedom of expression, decentralisation, and an evolutionary approach. Nick explains, “It’s been a long, hard struggle and a lot of the people at PANDA have put up with enormous risks and challenges to their livelihoods and careers, so to have this recognition for them I think is particularly welcome and important.”
Nick Hudson (PANDA) joins the Burning Platform to discuss what the data suggest about the effectiveness of lockdowns on a cost-to-benefit ratio. There’s a discussion around the media’s role in stoking pandemic panic, before moving on to the subject of a vaccine – its viability given a rapid public uptake after an equally rapid turnaround, and big Pharma’s push to get a solution to market without it first being peer reviewed.
The media relish negative news. “If it bleeds it leads” still holds, and perhaps it’s never been truer than in the COVID-19 era. Every day the news highlights the spread of the virus and tells the sad stories of some of its victims.