NIH Director Suggests Law Enforcement ‘Track Down’ Spreaders of Online ‘Disinformation’ on Vaccines
Editors’ Note: Whether the Left disagrees with the celebration of Thanksgiving, the right of self-defense, school curricula, or the debate about governmental policies relative to Covid, it is clear what all Leftists share is a disdain for individual opinions and actions. More than just a viewpoint, almost always they want law enforcement to go after those with whom they disagree. It is truly a totalitarian response. One can disagree, without having to shut down, cancel, or prosecute those with whom one might disagree. They wish to be the authority on all that is factual and true and enforce sanctions on those that disagree with them. To them, we are either all idiots that must be protected by them, or we are all insurrectionists that must be punished. We are sure Dr. Collins is likely a nice fellow, but his disdain for anyone that sees the world differently than he, is plainly evident here. He is likely not even aware of how totalitarian are his own instincts. Because he wears a white jacket in no way empowers him to rule over us without our consent. Maybe some modest circumspection is due on his part. If the government had not been so contradictory in many of the things it has said in the name of science, if the rules they have imposed made common sense, if the rules respected our liberties; perhaps there would not be so much resistance to governmental diktat. Some years ago, we were warned about letting the government fund our healthcare. People were attracted by the idea of “free stuff”, not realizing that which the Federal Government subsidizes, it will control. And control it does, even as to our thoughts about medicine.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins stressed the dangers of incorrect claims regarding the COVID-19 vaccines and suggested tracking down spreaders of vaccine misinformation in an interview with NPR on Sunday.
“The thing that worries me most is the way in which misinformation and, frankly, disinformation has become so prominent in the face of a public health crisis,” Collins told NPR. “And it has been manipulated in some situations for political reasons in a fashion that is turning our culture wars into something really serious.”
When asked whether misinformation is “the deadliest disease,” Collins responded affirmatively, encouraging repercussions for those who intentionally spread false claims about the vaccines.
“I really think they are the ones that we ought to be trying to track down and figure out, why are you doing this?” Collins said. “And isn’t there some kind of justice for this kind of action?”
Collins went on to suggest that vaccine disinformation should be viewed as a threat to public safety and implied support for taking legal action to prevent it.
“Isn’t this like yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater?” Collins asked. “Are you really allowed to do that without some consequences?”
The NIH did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment regarding whether Collins’ remarks represent the agency’s position.
Collins’ comments echo remarks made by other health officials, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who called for tech companies to crack down on vaccine misinformation.
President Joe Biden said Facebook was “killing people” for not adequately removing vaccine misinformation from its platform, while press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House was flagging posts for social media companies to remove.
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This article was published on November 22, 2021, and is reproduced with permission from The Daily Signal.
