1/F
Dr. Anthony Fauci complained about death threats to him, his family, public health experts + staff, etc.
This thread will cover some of the rhetoric that may have contributed to that, along with surrounding context.
1:43:53 - 1:47:40 :
2/F
Fauci is not alone in receiving threats.
For example, there's Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer:
"Death threats to NIH official spark debate over aggressive campaign to end animal research"
science.org/content/articl…
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
theguardian.com/us-news/articl…
3/F
Threats sometimes lead to physical harm.
"of 510 researchers who had published on SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19, 38% acknowledged harassment ranging from personal insults to threats of violence"
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jv…
doi.org/10.1016/j.puhi…
pbs.org/newshour/natio…
4/F
So what rhetoric may have contributed to this?
Well, there's NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya liking an image in which Dr. Fauci is imp*led on a spear (@DrJBhattacharya, @NIHDirector_Jay).
archive.is/fhvKW
x.com/DrJBhattachary…
x.com/TWTThisIsNow/s…
5/F
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), said experts should be held accountable,... next to an image of a guillotine (@MartinKulldorff).
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
archive.is/V4WTz
@MartinKulldorff 6/F
Former Trump administration science adviser Paul Alexander demanded trials and public executions.
x.com/malar0ne/statu…
x.com/_johnbye/statu…
palexander.substack.com/p/the-greatest…
7/F
Michael Caputo, former Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs, insinuated there would be violence and that scientists at the CDC engaged in sedition.
npr.org/2020/09/15/913…
8/F
Prominent lab leak proponent Dr. Richard Ebright said Dr. Fauci was a sociopathic accessory to murder who must pay (@R_H_Ebright).
x.com/R_H_Ebright/st…
[archive.is/RU2v0
web.archive.org/web/2021042514…]
archive.is/cwc44
9/F
Prominent lab leak proponent Dr. Bryce Nickels collaborated with Bhattacharya, and defended the idea that scientists engaged in murder (@Bryce_Nickels).
x.com/Bryce_Nickels/…
x.com/Bryce_Nickels/…
x.com/SciFrTheFringe…
@Bryce_Nickels 10/F
BlueSky thread on this:
bsky.app/profile/atomsk…
Those using violent rhetoric stayed in the good graces of others.
And the rhetoric spread to prominent allied folks outside the administration.
x.com/Michigan_Noah/…
x.com/BretWeinstein/…
x.com/malar0ne/statu…
11/F
It's fine to criticize claims made by experts like Fauci.
But that doesn't justifying stoking violent rhetoric.
x.com/gorskon/status…
"Paul D. Thacker, Jay Bhattacharya"
doi.org/10.35122/001c.…
[researchgate.net/publication/37…]
x.com/thackerpd/stat…
x.com/hypoautonomic/…
12/F
So it's unsurprising to see violent rhetoric spread among many conspiracists, contrarians, etc.
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
archive.is/uGZ7j
x.com/dr_jon_l/statu…
[x.com/thereal_truthe…]
archive.is/M0zP0
archive.is/vLJUB
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
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13/F
Curious to see the response from tone trolls who complained about supposedly harsh tone used against Fauci's critics.
Will they have anything to say about violent rhetoric from Fauci's critics?
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
x.com/19joho/status/…
paulingraham.com/tone-trolls
14/F
Fauci's critics, like congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, understand how dangerous rhetoric can be when it's applied to them
“Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats”
cbsnews.com/news/marjorie-…
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
bbc.com/news/articles/…
15/F
Others inaccurately compared experts to Nazis, as in the 'Nuremberg' example from 10/F.
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
That was promoted by Scott Atlas, whom Trump selected as an advisor to the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
x.com/ScottAtlas_IT/…
x.com/AtomsksSanakan…
16/F
Similar flawed Nazi comparisons were made by Dr. Vinay Prasad, head of CBER within the FDA, i.e. one of the lead vaccine regulators in the USA (@VPrasadMDMPH).
Aptly debunked by @AuschwitzMuseum.
x.com/AuschwitzMuseu…
x.com/AuschwitzMuseu…
cancerletter.com/the-cancer-let…
@VPrasadMDMPH @AuschwitzMuseum 17/F
Prominent lab leak proponent Alex Washburne deleted his false Nazi comparisons.
x.com/jeremyvancleve…
ukw.de/medien-kontakt…
zenodo.org/records/149626…
archive.is/uN7d2#selectio…
web.archive.org/web/2023032823…
x.com/Spooper19/stat…
x.com/DrCSyn/status/…
archive.is/Aeq2I
18/F
So overall that's targeting experts with:
- violent rhetoric, including execution
- the charge of being sociopathic accessories to murder who need to pay
- incorrect comparisons to Nazis
- removal of security protection
🤦♂️
youtube.com/watch?v=pFjsmh…
houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/…
19/F
Video on this from Dave Farina, a.k.a. Professor Dave Explains:
"COVID Origins: Debunking the Grift, Pseudoscience, and Politics of the Lab Leak Theory"
1:24:09 - 1:25:55
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