Two Questions About the Rolling Stone Story

[Valin]

Power Line

John Hinderaker

September 6, 2021

Steve wrote about the latest Rolling Stone fiasco here. Basically, Rolling Stone picked up a local TV news story out of Oklahoma to the effect that large numbers of Oklahomans were overdosing on Ivermectin, to the point where hospitals were turning away gunshot victims and there were no ambulances to be had. Other leftists like Rachel Maddow picked up the story and ran with it, even though it was laughable on its face. Kyle Smith also has a good review of the story, and Iowahawk and others have fun at Rolling Stone’s expense at Twitchy. I think this is pretty funny:

 

For me, this episode prompts two questions. The first is, did anyone actually believe the Oklahoma story? In its original version, the TV news station quoted a single doctor but did not identify any of the hospitals that allegedly were turning away patients because of the supposed throng of Oklahomans overdosing on Ivermectin. Many have suggested that Rolling Stone must be thoroughly humiliated at being exposed peddling fake news, and that the magazine should have known better after the University of Virginia rape fiasco.

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Further, why is it that we constantly hear from bureaucrats like Dr. Fauci who likely haven’t seen a patient in decades, while the voices of actual practicing doctors–the physicians who in some cases have treated hundreds of covid patients–are silenced? Especially when they try to report positive results from a course of treatment?

Granted, viruses are generally hard to cure or to treat. The conventional advice for covid is to treat it the same way you would a cold or the flu–a fact that seems revealing in itself. But I think the seeming disinterest in identifying practical remedies for covid, while we are awash in news stories about other aspects of the disease, is puzzling.

[Valin]

Big Tech’s censorship of Ivermectin stories depend on who’s sharing it

An anti-ivermectin story has been debunked but hasn't been censored online.

Didi Rankovic

Sept. 6 2021

The use of the drug Ivermectin to treat COVID has been one of the long-time targets of censorship both on social media and by large corporate outlets, some of whom are not stopping there, but also resort to publishing fake news and misinformation about this type of treatment.

Earlier in the pandemic. saga, the narrative around Ivermectin and several other medications has been that they doesn’t really work as a cure for COVID and therefore should not be used or recommended; the root of this “Ivermectin scare” was also accused of being largely political, because it was pushed by media outlets opposed to Donald Trump, who in turn promoted the drug.

But now Ivermectin has been portrayed as the cause for mass overdosing in Oklahoma in a story published by The Rolling Stone – which turned out to be completely false.

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[Valin]

Maddow Doesn’t Delete Tweet Promoting Dubious Story of Ivermectin Patients Overloading Hospitals