(Chris Parker, Headline USA) A new report echoes claims from 2020 that the government is the primary source of COVID-19 misinformation.
The US Surgeon General recently sought the public’s feedback on COVID-19 misinformation and how it’s impacted trust in the healthcare system. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita joined leading healthcare and viral policy experts in accusing the government of spreading misinformation, according to Just the News.
Their accusations specifically focused on the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other government agencies related to healthcare. The press release detailing their comment also focused on “misleading messages” by Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding masks, lockdowns, vaccines and asymptomatic testing.
They echoed several claims made by a barrage of healthcare workers in 2020, many of whom condemned the lockdowns and restrictions as being more harmful than the virus. Some studies show that these measures have been especially harmful to children.
One such claim came from the heavily-censored press conference conducted in April, 2020, with Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi. The video quickly went viral before it was removed from Facebook and YouTube. It was also censored numerous times on Twitter.
They also accused the government’s promotion of falsehoods and use of “shoddy evidence” as instilling more distrust in science and public health. According to their comment, it will “take decades to repair.”
“The government spent close to $5 trillion fighting COVID-19, but still can’t provide Hoosiers with an accurate number of deaths or hospitalizations from COVID-19,” Rokita said in a press release.
Government officials have also slipped up regarding COVID-19 on several occasions. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, then Director for the Illinois Department of Health, admitted during an April 2020 press conference that COVID death counts were exaggerated.
A few months later, Anthony Fauci was seen lowering his mask and ignoring social distancing during a Washington Nationals’ baseball game. As recently as August 2021, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, wore a mask while taking a picture, then removed it when she thought the cameras had stopped recording.
