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Alex Berenson is accusing me of using "a red-flag libel word" because I said he lied on FoxNews about #COVID19. He demands I provide evidence of these lies (though lol—he didn't take issue for all the other ways I've said he's full of shit).
Well, you asked for it, Alex.
Well, you asked for it, Alex.
Here's a supercut of Alex saying that masks don't work. Maybe he gets a break for saying this once. Science changes with the evidence. But Alex makes a grand tour of multiple Fox News shows over months, repeating this despite mounting evidence.#action=share
What evidence is there? Here's the CDC's list of peer-reviewed studies supporting mask use. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprevent-getting-sick%2Fcloth-face-cover.html#recent-studies
Here's a big old WHO-funded systematic review in Lancet from June showing that mask efficacy depends on study design and mask composition, but the bottom line is that masks and distancing works. Since this came out, Alex repeatedly said masks don't work. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31142-9/fulltext
What is it called when someone repeats something that they know is demonstrably untrue?
Oh, right. That's called a Iie.
Oh, right. That's called a Iie.
Here he tells Tucker Carlson that "PCR tests are almost manipulated to come back positive most of the time."
Nope. Cycle thresholds from PCR tests quantify viral RNA. These tests are very sensitive & high Ct values don't equal infectious virus. https://video.foxnews.com/v/6188609305001
Nope. Cycle thresholds from PCR tests quantify viral RNA. These tests are very sensitive & high Ct values don't equal infectious virus. https://video.foxnews.com/v/6188609305001
However, just because high Ct values (meaning low viral RNA) don't indicate a person is shedding infectious virus and therefore not contagious doesn't mean that tests are "almost manipulated." They still are important diagnostic tools, they just have limitations, like all assays.
The NY Times piece he's referring to, in which I was quoted, covers how PCR tests work in detail and discusses the utility of less sensitive rapid tests. He praised the article so I assume he read it & knows full well that PCR tests are not "manipulated". https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testing.html
Here's a fun clip in which Alex parrots the lie that COVID-19 death counts are grossly overestimated, saying that "many if not most of those deaths occurred in extremely sick people who may have died ‘with’ rather than ‘from’ COVID-19." https://www.foxnews.com/media/alex-berenson-medias-focus-on-covid-death-count-designed-to-spread-panic-make-virus-seem-more-dangerous-than-it-is
This fallacy is based on a willful misunderstanding of how excess deaths are reported and how death certificates are filled out. Pre-existing conditions impact COVID-19 severity, so...yeah, a lot of people who die from COVID-19 have other maladies.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm
COVID-19 makes these conditions worse. So let's say someone dies of COVID-19 "with" renal failure and diabetes. Sure, maybe they died because their kidneys failed, but their kidneys would not have failed if they didn't get COVID-19 also!
So either Alex is fundamentally stupid or he's intentionally presenting this in a misleading way, which is a type of lie. Alex, I'll gladly retract my statement about lying about this if you prefer to admit that you are an idiot outside of your depth.
And one of Alex's favorite talking points is that LOCKDOWNS KILL by what he calls iatrogenic deaths ("iatrogenic"=caused by medical intervention). Here he is attributing lockdowns to an increase in homicides: https://www.foxnews.com/media/alex-berenson-raises-concern-for-surge-of-homicides-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-its-very-striking
He claims here that lockdowns have caused nightmares, panic attacks, and agoraphobia. https://www.foxnews.com/health/alex-berenson-coronavirus-lockdowns-take-grim-toll-on-mental-health-of-americans
And here Fox reports that he attributes a woman's suicide to lockdown-induced depression: https://www.foxnews.com/media/playboy-playmate-ashley-mattingly-death-coronavirus-lockdowns
While this whole shitshow of a year has taken a major toll on mental health, have lockdowns themselves "killed" people?
No. There haven't been lockdowns since April and May in many places. Homicide rates are still higher than before. The mental health epidemic continues.
No. There haven't been lockdowns since April and May in many places. Homicide rates are still higher than before. The mental health epidemic continues.
But you know what IS a leading cause of death in the US? (SPOILER: it's not "iatrogenic" deaths)
1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. COVID-19 https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/22/911934489/enormous-and-tragic-u-s-has-lost-more-than-200-000-people-to-covid-19
1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. COVID-19 https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/22/911934489/enormous-and-tragic-u-s-has-lost-more-than-200-000-people-to-covid-19
I'd expect this level of insightful epidemiologic analysis from someone who wrote a book claiming that cannabis causes violence & school shootings. Last summer, he appeared on his favorite network to help Tucker argue that exact point: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tucker-carlson-tries-blame-marijuana-173835332.html
And on the topic of cannabis and COVID-19, here's Alex flexing some more of his stunning epidemiological "hypothesis-generating" insight back in March. LMAO
Finally, as we move into flu season, what does Alex have to say about that? You guessed it: he thinks COVID mortality isn't much worse than seasonal influenza! https://www.foxnews.com/media/alex-berenson-worldwide-coronavirus-bad-flu-year
How many people died from influenza last year in the US?
Last year, ~35,000 people died of flu according to the CDC.
200,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19.
Alex either doesn't understand how numbers work or he's LYING.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html
Last year, ~35,000 people died of flu according to the CDC.
200,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19.
Alex either doesn't understand how numbers work or he's LYING.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html
So no, I'm not going to withdraw my statement that he's made false claims on national television. He has made false claims, otherwise known as telling lies, and it isn't libelous to say so, whether I have 10 followers or 10 million.
Alex built his 200K+ follower platform by attacking multiple colleagues and intentionally spreading misinformation that could literally get people killed. If he wants to send your troll followers my way to harass me, be my guest. I can block and report all weekend.
So, no, I won't retract comments about Alex making demonstrably untrue statements, aka lies, on national TV, because he has done so in the past and does to this day.
Fuck off, Alex. You're a troll, a pest, a thirsty incompetent fool, a menace to public health, and a LIAR.
Fuck off, Alex. You're a troll, a pest, a thirsty incompetent fool, a menace to public health, and a LIAR.
ADDENDUM: relevant legal finding on one of Alex's favorite shows.
"This 'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that he is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses."
So...everyone knows Tucker's show is devoted to lying. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/judge-rules-fox-news-tucker-carlson-not-source-of-news-defamation-suit-mcdougal-trump.html
"This 'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that he is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses."
So...everyone knows Tucker's show is devoted to lying. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/judge-rules-fox-news-tucker-carlson-not-source-of-news-defamation-suit-mcdougal-trump.html
Lest the ruling judge be accused of liberal bias against Tucker...he was being sued for defamation:
"The federal judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, who herself was appointed to the federal bench by Trump nine months ago, dismissed the case, citing Carlson’s First Amendment protections."
"The federal judge, Mary Kay Vyskocil, who herself was appointed to the federal bench by Trump nine months ago, dismissed the case, citing Carlson’s First Amendment protections."
