Censorship doesn’t save lives in the age of coronavirus—or ever

In case you missed it, I want to share some details of a video that stirred up some controversy recently.

It featured a British oncologist by the name of Karol Sikora. He gave an interview on the coronavirus pandemic to a British news website called unherd.com. He suggested that the virus may be getting “tired”—and that growing immunity might signal a welcome downturn in death rates.

Which is an optimistic take, for sure. But it’s also a reasoned one. And yet, within hours of its appearance on YouTube, it was removed for “violating guidelines.” They have since allowed the video back up… but as far as I’m concerned, the damage was done.

Censorship is never okay

Now, I will refrain from any further commentary on the actual contents of this video. Because for the sake of this discussion, they don’t even matter.

Instead, I want to focus on the most important part of this story, which is what happened to this video, despite its speaker’s verifiable credentials. And I’m prepared to call it exactly what it is: CENSORSHIP.

I’ve stayed noticeably quiet about my political takes on the coronavirus response—and I plan to remain so. But as a doctor who deals in the written and recorded word—and is responsible for countless emails, newsletters, and videos—I will not tolerate censorship. And neither should you.

I write to you to offer alternative ways to think logically about health. As such, I often make recommendations that go against mainstream ideas and protocol. In fact, I create my own protocols for healing. And these protocols are designed from decades of research and clinical experience.

Now, imagine if I was censored. Because if you ask me, it’s already bad enough that my supposed peers offer so little respect and look down on my desire to do things differently. What’s worse, my own patients often face ridicule from their conventional doctors.

But that’s the price you pay for carving out your own path. They can disagree, even mock us—but they can’t stop us. And if that somehow changes now, believe me when I say we’re all in big trouble.

Diversity is the American way

As you know, we’re up against a completely novel virus, and we’re still navigating a crisis with no foreseeable end in sight. So, if there was ever a time when all theories should be looked at, considered, and dissected for validity… it’s now.

That’s why I’ve warned, time and again, of the risks of putting all of our eggs into one basket in the fight against COVID-19. (Especially if that basket is tainted with the stench of Big Pharma.) We simply can’t afford to leave anything off the table.

Americans have already been asked to sacrifice our civil liberties and confine ourselves without a fight—and yes, I did and still do see this sacrifice as being both noble and necessary.

But we are nevertheless navigating a slippery slope. And there are some freedoms we really ought to think twice about giving up.

I, myself, am a little too young to remember the early battles that took place just so we could buy vitamins and take them as we wish. But I still have many friends in the industry who fought that good fight—and I never forget to tell them how grateful I am for the tireless work they did.

And the truth is, you’re a rebel, too… or you wouldn’t be subscribing to my daily Reality Health Check e-letter or monthly Logical Health Alternatives newsletter in the first place. So I urge you to speak out against social media companies (and you know the ones I’m talking about) who block and demote ideas simply because they have deemed them unacceptable.

Solutions require discussions. And discussions can’t happen when only one side has a voice.

That’s why it’s our responsibility as citizens to be keenly aware of what’s going on around us—to demand our right to both hold and entertain different opinions, and to respect those differences accordingly.

That’s the America I grew up in. And it’s the one I hope to continue to live in, long after this pandemic ends.

Source:

“YouTube Corrects Its Misdiagnosis of Doc’s Coronavirus Video.” Medscape Medical News, 05/21/2020. (medscape.com/viewarticle/930977)