TNI suppressing dissenting scientists

Trusted News Initiative – Freedom of the press?

Recently, the Daily Bee published my letter titled as that above. The premise of the letter was that we, the public, are not getting the full story and are being denied the facts with which to make valid decisions regarding COVID and the vaccines. In the letter, which was submitted with references, I highlighted the role of the Trusted New Initiative in suppressing information.

However, the editor posted the following, misleading note: 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.

She is correct in stating that the TNI was first established in 2018 to protect democracies and vote integrity from undue influence by hostile off-shore players. As stated on in my letter, the BBC and the other signatories changed their point of focus on Dec. 10, 2020 to resisting vaccine misinformation and disinformation. They defined this as anything that might lead to vaccine hesitancy and is contrary to official statements of the WHO and national health agencies. As a consequence, prominent dissenting scientists and doctors have been banned from social media, and their messages suppressed. This essentially destroyed the scientific process, which includes constantly questioning and reviewing medical dogma.

The BBC press release can be found at bbc.in/31RqVIe.

SHEP SNOW

Sandpoint

Editor’s note: The Daily Bee stands by its original editor’s note.