Popular podcaster Joe Rogan floated a lawsuit against CNN over the network’s claims that he has been taking “horse deworming medicine” to treat COVID-19.
Rogan revealed last week that he has been taking a number of therapeutics, all prescribed by his doctor, after testing positive for the virus.
One of the drugs he was prescribed was ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that is given to both humans and animals for various purposes. CNN, however, ran multiple segments blasting Rogan for promoting a “crazy jumble” of medications.
“They’re trying to make it seem like I’m doing some wacky s**t that’s completely ineffective,” Rogan said on a recent podcast episode. “CNN was saying that I’m a distributor of misinformation.”
Ironically, the network was the one spreading falsehoods, he added—which could subject it to legal liability from a defamation suit.
“Bro, do I have to sue CNN?” Rogan asked. “They’re making shit up. They keep saying I’m taking horse dewormer. I literally got it from a doctor. It’s an American company. They won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for use in human beings, and CNN is saying I’m taking horse dewormer. They must know that’s a lie.”
Many in the media have dismissed ivermectin as an ineffective and dangerous treatment, ignoring the fact that multiple doctors have prescribed it to COVID-19 patients across the country.
CNN’s medical analyst, Jonathan Reiber, went so far as to claim that ivermectin was completely ineffective.
“It doesn’t work. I wish it worked,” Reiner said. “It would be great if it worked. You know, it’s an old drug. It’s a cheap drug. It would be fantastic if it worked. It doesn’t work. We know that.”
Reiner also accused Rogan of pushing “dangerous” medications.
“He’s promoting kind of a crazy jumble of, you know, sort of folk remedies and internet-prescribed drugs. It’s, again, dangerous now,” Reiner added. “He should have more sense after encountering the disease. And again, I hope he does well and gets well quickly. He’s not helping matters when he promotes this sort of nonsense therapeutic mix.”
