November 12, 2021 - 9:30am
The Cochrane Organisation is responsible for the publication of meta analyses and systematic reviews to help doctors and patients make informed choices about health. They are considered by many to be the gold standard in scientific and health evidence. On Wednesday they were unceremoniously shadow banned by Instagram. Anyone wishing to tag the organisation’s account in their posts was greeted with a warning message, declaring that they had “repeatedly posted content that goes against our community guidelines on false content about COVID-19 or vaccines”.
This is a surprising turn of events, given that, for years, the literature produced by the Cochrane Organisation has been considered an authority in medical evidence. Each systemic review considers the findings of many studies and trials, and a well done review is often considered “level 1” evidence — the best of the best. Such reviews feed into guidelines issued by national and international organisations such as NICE, and have significant impacts on NHS policies. What happened?
The Cochrane ban marks the latest in a long line of tech censorship, which has seen accounts suspended, shadow banned and removed. All in an attempt to fight disinformation relating to the Covid 19 pandemic.
It is important that false information cannot be spread with impunity. We live in an interconnected world, and false anti-vaxx propaganda can result in significant harm. But who decides what is disinformation and what isn’t? Shouldn’t we be concerned that Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have determined themselves to be the arbiters of scientific truth, simply because of the platforms they own? Tech companies have responded to the pandemic by taking the opportunity to implement a policy of enthusiastic and heavy handed censorship. Shadow banning the Cochrane Organisation is just another step in a strategy which has even seen cardiologists censored for discussing vaccine-related myocarditis.
Science is a process, and scientific discovery means that beliefs change. We have seen this many times throughout the pandemic. Most will remember the WHO’s statements in March 2020 — against wearing facemasks, unless sick or caring for someone sick. It is a statement that, if written now, would likely get them banned from social media.
Some argue that such censorship is a positive step, but those demanding more tech restriction and paternalism should realise it may be harming more than it helps. Not only does heavy handed censorship by social media companies contravene free speech, and cut down on legitimate discussion, it is also counterproductive.
Whilst it may be reasonable to limit patently untrue statements, cracking down on rapidly-changing positions, and denying ambiguity where it exists, only serves to drive people to more extreme beliefs. Conspiracy theories capitalise on uncertainty, and mistrust in authorities. What better way to sew seeds of mistrust than to refuse to permit any debate, and to fail to admit when evidence is sparse, or policies mutable? If the aim is to cut down on conspiracies and disinformation, far better to allow discussion and debate, and to be open and honest about the information we do have, including the shortcomings and the limitations.
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why would Big Tech / Social Media want scientists to do actual scientific investigation when “The Science” has been settled by those who already know the correct answers in the blue check brigade.
I clicked to say like, but no I don’t like it. I do however agree with it.
It is, of course, absurd that Instagram, that presumably does not have a committee of well qualified scientists to carry out research, should simply ban an organisation like Cochrane without explanation.
A sort of pseudo Papal infallibility is invoked. Galileo should not have tried to advance his fake news that the earth moved. No wonder he was cancelled.
This is a very dark, Global Conspiracy. If you have not understood that yet you are not paying any attention. The world economy is about to crash – worse than the GFE, from the trillions of $ monetized and fiscally conjured out of air so people could stay home not producing stuff – wile being paid so they could consume at their normal rate. This is IMPOSSIBLE. If you increase money supply (M2) but reduce goods and services, you get Inflation, and the currency is debased, this is a disaster looming.
The hairdressers, resturants, pubs, office cleaners, shops other than necesities – all laid off with pay – so instead of eating out, having haircuts…. they took their money and shopped Amazon, buying Chinese goods – notice the global ports are clogged? USA is importing 80$ Billion a Month more than it exports, on top USA is doing QE of 120$ Billion a MONTH – with money printed out of air – you think that will work? Meanwhile people are not taking jobs and inflation is over 10%….And it is just beginning.
FACT 1) the mandates are not about health or they would recognize Natural Immunity. They are to force the vaccine
FACT 2) If the vax gave protection they would not have to force it on the unwilling as the ones wishing it would be protected. 62% of all the ones in UK dieing of covid are vaxed.
FACT 3) The vax is not a vax, it is NOT sterilizing as a real vaccine is, like Chicken pox or TB. Therefore covid can never be erradicated, and as vacced can get, and pass on, covid, forcing the vax on the naturally immune is pointless in every way.
There are medical treatments, Ivermectin is almost certainly one of them. I keep horse de-wormer and use it when ever I feel I may be showing symptoms. That all medicines have been FORBIDDEN to be studied shows this is a conspiracy. Only the vax is allowed – and it is forced against every right and freedom, and it has more problems than are allowed to be told. The vax is useful – BUT everyone must weigh their cost/benefit. Young and healthy – old and obese, the two are not – one size fits all.
Indeed.
I was making many of those points right at the start of this farce to anyone who would listen. Some did, most thought it was my usual nihilistic pessimism in action.
The complexity of modern supply chains is so deeply woven into the necessities to support billions of people that to remove those supposed non-essential industries from the active economy will cause serious repurcussions. Actual serious food and energy shortages are now a serious possibility (now just add net-zero carbon policies for an extra laugh).
To me, this seems blatantly obvious – how does reducing the supply of goods and services while increasing the money supply end well? How does scarcity of goods and services help the health services we’re supposedly protecting?
And if all this was obvious to an idiot like me, why was it not to the people making the decisions, or the vast majority of the media who are supporting these decisions?
Probably not that important, no. Consider that the USA, the world’s major superpower and richest country, has free speech written into the Constitution. You can spread as much “misinformation” as you like in the USA and the government can’t touch you – hence why they’ve had to rope in their ideological allies in the private sector instead.
Has this refusal to restrict “misinformation” hurt the USA? Clearly, it has not. Instead it’s handed the USA total dominance of social media. Consider that you could not headquarter a company like Facebook or Twitter in Europe or even the UK given local laws and propensity for governments to engage in casual censorship. Even US companies experience enormous pain trying to satisfy the whims of local governments, which are often contradictory.
Having worked for the Valley, I am convinced the First Amendment is a critical part of the success of the US tech industry. The countries with the most aggressive actions against unapproved speech have either been steamrollered with the only exception (China) building up a local tech industry by simply outright banning the rest of the world’s services.
Once you start giving the social media companies the ‘right’ to control content, it is the end of democracy and pluralism. Oh yes, some dodgy things appear on their networks and therefore they may have (do have) a duty to seriously educate their users on how to read content, how to judge and understand content, but at no time, IMO, have they the right nor the duty to eliminate content. The only control over content they can have (and should follow) has to be administered by a democratically elected government : it must be a decision of civil society. This is a tricky thing to do in the real world because of the way the WWW functions but that is up to society to resolve.
Every time something ‘new’ comes out it produces lots of side effects until we learn how to use the new thing properly (or let’s say better). For instance cars… much less death/injury in relation to the number of cars on the road now than in the past
There is already a dire lack of scientific debate in current times: i.e. the lack of scientific debate on covid now reached the point of real objective participation by a well respected organisation: the population is not allowed to think for itself…. thinking the ‘people are not intelligent enough to make decisions for themselves’ is a very bad place to be. That we need education so this thinking improves all the time is certainly a fact.
I think we should be cautious about democratically elected governments deciding control of content. That is a slippery slope. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. The only exceptions being inciting and planning violence.
OK, give up 3+ hours to hear this video if you do not know how the vax is, US Senator Johnson Expert Panel on Federal Vaccine Mandates and Vaccine Injuries just skip through it, you need to see how twisted the world is now over the Government and Tech response to covid – Includes many interviews by vaccine injured, and medical experts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepqvdXoA2E
What is going on with the Covid response is very scary. This response has been at the global cost similar to WWII – not the killing and explosives, but in cost and effects – most of them are just beginning to show. Hundreds of millions, thousands of millions, of developing and third world will likely be plunged into the most abject poverty – the West may go into one of the worst depressions ever…
No doctors will diagnose vax illness as if they do their medical future is destroyed – the lid of censorship on this has never been seen since Stalin. Just spend a bit watching – the world is in a very dark place by the censoring.
The place in article was canceled for its Meta-analyst of Ivermectin.
People were invited from CDC, FDA, NIH, Fauci, Phizer, J&J, Moderna, and more NOT ONE ATTENDED
Here is Dr Campbell, youtubes favorite Covid medical person. He is an English PhD Nursing Teacher who has also worked in the East and Africa, and is totally pro vax, pro mask, but under it all is his seeing the inconsistencies being forced on the response. Being close to India he was very interested in how they used Ivermectin, and used the Ivermectin Meta-study from the article group – and is is in his list of videos.
He is a very calm and soothing man in his very pleasant, and Hugely popular, videos – he does one a day, and I have watched them all the time. To be educated, and to hear a calm person is just relaxing, so I put him on every evening – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepqvdXoA2E
The above is him talking to a man who has been totally crippled by the vax, a professional Mountain-Biker, one of the world’s most fit humans – he spoke at the Senate Johnson thing above, and you will see the link for it there.
And here is Campbell on the Ivermectin Study https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j7am9kjMrk
His yesterday video is how he got a Misinformation, Fact Check, and has been given these before but he is so HUGELY popular he can get away with bringing in all stuff – as he is 100% careful with his words.
If you do not fallow him you are living in one of histories big catastrophes (the covid response, not covid) and not understanding it at all – this guy is 100% Legitimate, you need to fallow him… He is pro vax, pro mask, pro distancing….
YOUTUBE HAS REMOVED THAT VIDEO LINK!
Here, is a live link to Ron Johnson’s Expert Panel on Vaccine Injuries: https://banned.video/watch?id=6192c4b26eb7794b57d75e5c
The testimonies project the movie (vaccine injuries):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4BpEr8gztU&t=81s
In case it gets deleted: https://www.vaxtestimonies.org/en
The Testimonies Project was created to provide a platform for all those who were affected after getting the covid-19 vaccines, and to make sure their voices are heard, since they are not heard in the Israeli media.
https://thecrowhouse.com/home.html
https://www.bitchute.Com/video/gigUyK3yLtMU/
(A British Undertaker experience of the Covid story)
A solution to this would be to hit them in the pocket.
For years the ‘social media’ companies have claimed to be “platforms” and therefor immune from local taxes because they do not produce or curate content. However, now they are ‘picking and choosing’, they are curating. Think of the billions that governments could raise by putting them in the correct tax bracket. . . Oh! Hold on. That would require the governments to not be in ‘big tech’s’ pocket – yeah, scrub that idea then, sorry.