Trusted News Initiative: Freedom of the press?

On Dec. 10, 2020, the British Broadcasting Corporation launched an agreement called the Trusted News Initiative. The premise was to support the COVID vaccine concept and prevent any dissenting viewpoints from seeing the light of day. They became the arbiters of truth, with a self-appointed charter to “inform future media education programs.”

The signers of the agreement include AFP, CBC/Radio Canada, Financial Times, First Draft, Washington Post, NY Times, Deutsche Press, Agence France Presse, Facebook, Google/YouTube, Microsoft, Twitter, the Associated Press and Reuters – essentially the source for all news seen in the press and mainstream and social media in the US. This international process of editorial control delivers unprecedented news coverage of a unified message: The pandemic threatens the survival of all humanity. There is no therapy to cure the sick. It is necessary to control and confine the population. And the kicker, our only hope is a vaccine. They have perpetuated the psychosis of fear.

As a consequence, one never hears of alternative treatments, despite extensive evidence supporting their efficacy, or the fact that 56 countries are successfully using them. Countless renowned scientists and doctors question the wisdom of these vaccines. Yet there are no TNI-approved media statements to that point. The scientific method, continually questioning and validating any hypothesis, has been abandoned. Hence, the only thing we see and hear on television and in the press is the standard mantra, “safe and effective” followed by cautions to only trust the WHO, NIH, CDC and FDA.

SHEP SNOW

Sandpoint

Editor's note: According to the BBC, the Trusted News Initiative was established to protect audiences and users from disinformation. The initiative's framework has been jointly developed among the BBC and its partners, and relates to only the most serious disinformation, which threatens life or the integrity of the electoral process.