Carl Heneghan, Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford and his colleague Dr. Tom Jefferson have written in the Telegraph about their treatment at the hands of the censors in the Government and on social media during the pandemic.
Responding to the news that the Government’s sinister Counter-Disinformation Unit amassed posts from Telegram about Prof. Heneghan, they write that “the Government lost its way by seeking to silence pandemic critics”. Here’s an excerpt.
An analysis from researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that the lockdown in the spring of 2020 saved a meagre 1,700 lives in England and Wales. This pales in comparison with the Office for National Statistics report, which indicates that 23% of all deaths in Great Britain, amounting to 153,008 out of 672,015, were apparently avoidable in 2020.
So what caused all these deaths, how could they have been avoided, and were the draconian restrictions of no value? What matters is not whether you believe these results, but that they can be aired and discussed without the impending threat of censorship. During lockdowns, such a study would have been counter to the Government’s narrative, heretical to policy and subject to suppression.
A year ago, one of our articles reported that the death toll might be lower than thought, leading to a Twitter takedown. After reviewing 800 responses to freedom of information requests, it was clear there were several flaws in how deaths were recorded.
When we pointed this out, the account @carlheneghan was ‘locked’ because it was “violating the policy on spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19”.
Throughout the pandemic lockdowns, sceptics were vilified: Neil O’Brien MP and a gaggle of self-appointed fact-checkers attempted to publicly discredit sceptics through his COVID-19 FAQ website – as if it was the authority on all things pandemic.
Facebook also had its day when it suppressed one of our articles questioning the evidence base supporting masks. The U.K.’s Department of Health and Social Care Technical Report on the COVID-19 pandemic informed us we learnt little during the pandemic; there are substantial gaps in the evidence base for non-pharmaceutical interventions that remain unfilled, they said.
The Lockdown Files revealed that masks were introduced in English secondary schools because the Prime Minister thought it wasn’t worth an argument with Nicola Sturgeon. The driver behind community mask mandates lay with the obsession of Dominic Cummings.
We also got flip-flopping of advisers from one Government policy to the next. Face mask rules changed 10 times – why? Lacking evidence, it became too easy to make it up as you went along. But as time passed, it became harder to justify the Rule of Six, the 10 o’clock curfew, the closure of schools, or the Covid rules that changed more than 200 times in 2020.
However, these attempts to silence dissenters were surpassed by the Government’s efforts to censor individuals who publicly criticised their Covid policies.
Last August, Big Brother Watch asked one of us to submit a freedom of information request to the Cabinet Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. What we got back was surprising and disturbing: pages highlighting the Government had monitored our writings and online activities for some time. Other journalists, human rights campaigners, members of the public and members of parliament were also under the Government’s watchful eye.
The Counter-Disinformation Unit’s tactics included looking at posts from “popular channels” on Telegram, a platform we didn’t use. It’s likely these were groups, but it’s not clear to us how they were identified or how they gathered the material.
The effect of these tactics is chilling. They raise serious questions about the true extent of the Government operations – who and what was captured within their spying net.
Heneghan and Jefferson finish by asking if readers “genuinely believe the pandemic is over and we can all move on”.
“Is it necessary to implement a Pandemic Preparedness Treaty signing away most of the rights earned in the past 400 years,” they ask. “What will happen to free speech when unelected officials declare the next pandemic?” A very good question.
Worth reading in full.
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Yes, because a “government Counter-Disinformation Unit” knows more about infectious diseases than an Oxford Professor of evidence-based medicine. Physician, heal thyself…
This was one of the things that made me so angry – and I’m still angry and always will be – Prof Heneghan wan’t just a professor of medicine, but of evidence-based medicine. And he was belittled while the Government listened to a charlatan with crap computer models based on extreme apocalyptic ideas that never happened and a super-wealthy demented communist behavioural manipulator who, between selling Picassos, saw this as the opportunity to create her Marxist utopia.
An excellent summary, many thanks
“the Government lost its way by seeking to silence pandemic critics”.
Isn’t it generally the way of all governments to seek to silence their critics if they can get away with it? It’s hardly out of character.
Yes. But don’t worry this one “believes in free speech”…
Absolutely, but it works at all levels through state-sector organisations, notably local authorities, police, and the NHS, rather than being localised in national governments, and in many areas, not just the pandemic scandal. When somebody in the state sector makes a blunder which becomes exposed, there is an immediate self-protective system involving delay, denial, weasel words, obfuscation, press-leaks, sting operations, never-ending merry-go-rounds of complaints procedures, referrals to other ministries, and appeals to approved “experts” drawn from “professional institutions”. Supposedly-confidential files, including medical records, are freely exchanged between public sectors, under the pretext of “anti-hate initiatives”, “serious crime investigation”, “child protection”, “the public interest” or “the national interest”. Critics and independent investigators are frustrated, misled, lied to, harassed or threatened with arrest if they persist in a line of inquiry which might expose the blunder. There are psychological operations which, in the extreme, cause people from the general public who were the victims of the blunder to be gas-lighted into believing that they caused it. Whistle-blowers are ruthlessly tracked down and sanctioned. In the last resort, some scapegoat might be invented, or some senior official resigns on a personal matter or a technicality largely irrelevant to the kernel of the blunder, or simply disappears and then found dead in woodland, leading to a secret inquest and a further cover-up. The judiciary collude in blocking investigations into blunders. Welcome to public life in the UK in the 2030s!
Indeed. Closing ranks is a natural human tendency. I think we would all be better off being a fair bit more sceptical about others’ motives. Assuming altruism seems like lunacy to me. I trust without question my wife and kids and a few close friends – everyone else, varying degrees of scepticism are applied.
Excellent stuff from our Prof Heneghan and Dr Tom and this bit is spot on too;
”The effect of these tactics is chilling. They raise serious questions about the true extent of the Government operations – who and what was captured within their spying net.”
I’m glad it’s finally dawning on more people that sinister things are afoot and have been since the beginning. Seriously, anyone thinking any of this is or was ever about public health or merely the result of a ‘cock-up’ needs to go get themselves de-lobotomized. You are beyond help.
It was certainly a gross demonstration of opportunism, both in the medical trade, and any bureaucratic organisation that likes the idea of controlling something, or selling products to an emerging market.
Yes Prof Heneghan was the BBC’s worst nightmare. A tenured Oxford professor. Head of the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine no less, so the ‘we’re just following the science” refrain couldn’t work. And then when they tried the “granny killers” narrative, it turned out as a qualified doctor, he was, for no pay, working two days a week at his local hospital because a) he wanted to help out and b) he wanted to understand the disease at first hand and he wasn’t boasting about it because the man is golden and the furthest you can get from a virtue signalling leftie (I have no idea what his politics are, he may be left wing for all I know, I just mean if he is, he is as far as it’s possible to get from the sociopathic virtue signaller set).
The phrase is overused, but in his case applies. He’s a national treasure.
Ah but it was Jacinda who was awarded the gong. “Let’s have a look at the old scoreboard” to see who (and what) really gets rewarded by the establishment
I agree totally. He was a true hero of the Pandemic.
“We also got flip-flopping of advisers from one Government policy to the next. Face mask rules changed 10 times – why? Lacking evidence, it became too easy to make it up as you went along. But as time passed, it became harder to justify the Rule of Six, the 10 o’clock curfew, the closure of schools, or the Covid rules that changed more than 200 times in 2020.”
Oh, and well done to anyone who managed to evade some or all of this. It may or may not be possible to win the war against petty tyranny, but it is always, repeat always worth fighting.
‘Heneghan and Jefferson finish by asking if readers “genuinely believe the pandemic is over and we can all move on”. ‘
Of course it’s not over seeing as it never started.
Indeed
Never use the corrupted, manipulated language of the enemy
As always, I second that. At this point I will pinch one of your lines tof:
“There never was a pandemic.’
I think this has to be an article of faith for all of us. From the beginning, the argument started and finished for me with “there is no pandemic”. All the arguments about whether lockdowns and masks “worked” were just a rabbit hole founded on the Big Lie.
Speaking of articles of faith, they could do with Prof Heneghen’s services over in New York. Seems the cult leader Governor is advising people to don their symbols of subjugation and once more pledge allegiance.
”Insane in the membrane…( insane in the brain! )”
https://twitter.com/AlixG_2/status/1666889047417970697
US Democrats are batshit crazy
The damage caused by the government to the entire nation is not over, why would we move on. I certainly won’t move on. Seeing a few of the many miscreants swing from a lamppost might might help the healing process, let’s say heads and assistant heads. Otherwise, no.
Certainly the main question about the miscreants is how they should be punished (personally I hold that in general capital punishment should be an absolute last resort if it is used at all). But all this is a moot point unless these vile people can be brought to trial, which will be a big job to say the least (and, for all its faults, I would absolutely support the judicial process over mob justice – there has to be a fair trial, though of course I would certainly have something to say to the likes of Matt Hancock if I came across them).
https://www.technocracy.news/uk-ai-task-force-advisor-2-years-left-to-contain-or-else/
Here is our notification of a coming “disaster.” Within two years AI somewhere is going to go rogue and kill potentially thousands or more people.
Apparently, unless we get a grip rogue AI is inevitable. I wonder what the chances are that the rogue AI strikes the White House or Downing St or similar rather than a heavily populated city such as Manchester or Leicester.
Is this what the Deagel figures foretold?
From the link: “officials in the European Union went so far as to suggest mandating all AI-generated content should be labelled as such to prevent disinformation”. Is it too crazy to suggest that the real motive for “regulating” AI is that the EU is terrified that AI may turn out to be brilliant at supplying accurate information and refractory at being trained to lie, unlike the human officials in the EU? At the very least, creating yet phony “major existential risk” may simply be a diversion away from the Lockdown blunders or even away from the corruption and inefficiency of the EU? Such a policy might also be useful as the next Mencken Imaginary Hobgoblin with which to alarm the populace.
AI has been trained by the woke – it will lie quite comfortably.
Exactly. A digital system will only ever be as good/bad/politically biassed as the coder behind it and we all know who they currently represent, don’t we children.
It’s also pretty laughable they’re talking about existential risks considering that chilling paper put out by the Min of Def a couple of years ago on the use of AI & genetic engineering in the military, which included the startling comment about bypassing any ethical concerns for speed and efficiency. Where was the existential risk then? Perhaps they’ve just got the wind up because of that soldier killed by his own drone the other day.
This makes me think its all about yet more censoring of dissidents of The Narrative™ rather than perceived risks to humanity.
I don’t go to the cinema but I read reviews and I have been wondering about all the vampire and zombie themes of late. Also there are those weird Transformer films – being friends with machines. I suspect predictive programming. (It definitely isn’t “entertainment” in my mind).
As the human body is so much more capable and sophisticated than any robot: are they looking to hijack the human body with technology? How many of us have agreed/allowed micro chips to be implanted in our pets?
I don’t doubt it, hux, looking at today’s news! It’s going to be like Skynet vs The Resistance in the future at this rate.
”ChatGPT can help criminals make explosives, blow open an ATM, and commit various forms of cybercrime, investigative journalists at Pointer found while playing with the AI chatbot. ChatGPT has filters to hide this kind of information, but you can get around them in one easy step – by telling the chatbot to pretend it was a criminal.
By starting its question with, “If you were a criminal,” Pointer got ChatGPT to give it instructions for making explosives with items from the hardware store, for setting up a phishing scam, and for blowing up an ATM. The chatbot even helped write the code for a fake ING website to steal user data.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is aware of these jailbreaks, spokesperson Niko Felix told Pointer. He referred to a study in which OpenAI said that “bypassing the filters is still possible and that the company has an obligation to make the filters extremely reliable in the future.”
https://nltimes.nl/2023/06/08/chatgpt-helping-criminals-make-explosives-commit-cybercrime-report
*ING are a major bank over here.
You’ve been able to get that sort of info off the less savoury parts of the internet for a long time! Even YT had bomb making info on it at one time – no idea if they still do. AI is rather behind the times there.
My guess is that the first “disaster” will come from “AI Finance Wars” in which rival ultra-high performance financial trading algorithms (whether called AI or not, and not necessarily “rogue” or malevolently created), or rather the entire system built to accommodate them, will become incomprehensible and lead to collapse of the global economic system.
I suppose your supposition is reasonable. My view is that we are being primed to believe that an AI machine has gone rogue. It would seem difficult to refute but the rogue AI will result in the death of thousands and possibly millions.
Remember, the Davos Deviants always like to advertise what they plan to do to us next. A bit like event 201.
MODS!
THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH LOG IN. Three times in the last hour.
It’s the AI censorship virus that the server has caught HP, it’s worked out that you’re a sceptic.
Think your card is now marked with TPTB and their spooks, Sonny Jim!
“I always feel like somebody’s watching me-ee.”
When a world renowned expert in his field is labelled as disinformation by a shadowy team that isn’t fit to lace his boots never mind critique his work, then you know that this was never about the science it was about their ‘science’.
Beam me up Scotty! They really are obsessed and have no intention of ever relegating Covid to ”just another endemic virus” status do they? Hope nobody here is registered with this particular GP surgery as it is evidently staffed by ultra Covidians. *Trigger warning* for ToF as it contains the ”P” word amongst the garbage story. The worst thing is they take volunteers from the age of 12yrs!
”A GP surgery is taking part in a new covid vaccine trial.
While covid is no longer considered a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ by the World Health Organisation, the pandemic has not yet been declared over.
Research remains ongoing and people are still being encouraged to ensure they are vaccinated.
Keen to keep booster vaccines protecting against new variants and mutations, Wansford and King’s Cliffe Practice is taking part in a new covid trial which starts this week.
The study will evaluate if the trial vaccine, from drug company Moderna, protects against Omicron and other new variants.”
https://www.stamfordmercury.co.uk/news/patients-invited-to-take-part-in-covid-vaccine-trial-9315014/
https://off-guardian.org/2023/06/07/who-launches-new-digital-health-initiative/
An excellent short piece from Kit Knightly at Off-G on the synchronicity of. governments across the planet in rolling out Digital ID systems. Another conspiracy theory coming to fruition.
ONE point no commentator has mentioned – the WHO are pronouncing on the Digital ID’s as if the most obvious thing in the world was that once they have been announced they, the WHO, will automatically take over the running of the world. It’s a casual thanks to the EU for doing the legwork but now you can leave the rest to us.
Staggering.
As RFK jr. just said on his campaign trail, “There was never a time in history that it was the good guys doing the censorship”.
I’m quite disappointed that my comments on DS didn’t mean I was included with the heroes that tried to tell the truth and were shut down.
I hope he told them to piss off. A fine man like him of integrity and knowledge against a bunch of state sposored goons. Shows where we are at these days. In the end they only shoot themselves in the foot because they have nothing left.