Whether it’s about the election, COVID-19, or now the coronavirus vaccine, a common theme that has emerged in 2020 is Don’t Question the Authorities. Part of the reason the Left hates Fox News’s Tucker Carlson so much is because he’s been unafraid to do just that.
On Thursday night, the host took aim at the PR campaign surrounding the coronavirus vaccine. While he made clear that his show is strongly supportive of vaccines, Carlson questioned how the rollout of the vaccine has been treated—like the “kind of corporate image campaign you typically associate with high-end consumer products.”
He pointed to the two healthcare workers in the same Alaska hospital who had severe reactions to the vaccine, including one who had no history of allergies.
Dr. Lindy Jones, the hospital’s emergency department medical director, said the worker was first given a shot of epinephrine, a standard treatment for severe allergic reactions. Her symptoms subsided but then re-emerged, and she was treated with steroids and an epinephrine drip.
When doctors tried to stop the drip, her symptoms re-emerged yet again, so the woman was moved to the intensive care unit, observed throughout the night, then weaned off the drip early Wednesday morning, Dr. Jones said. (NYT)
“She had to spend the night in the emergency room, but according to the doctor who treated her, she was ‘still enthusiastic that she got the vaccine and the benefits it would give her in the future,’” Carlson said.
“How are the rest of us supposed to respond to a marketing campaign like this? Well, nervously,” he continued. “Better to treat Americans like adults, explain the benefits, be honest about the risks, and let the rest of us decide.”
Instead, Silicon Valley is planning to quash dissent, he said.
In this country, we control our own bodies. They're always telling us that. But now the rules have changed. On the question of the coronavirus vaccine, our leaders are definitely not pro-choice. Their view is, "Do what you're told and don't complain." No uncomfortable questions. Those aren't just suggestions, they're rules, and Silicon Valley plans to enforce them.
Twitter has announced a new policy to censor any unauthorized inquiry about the vaccine or, as the company put it, "false or misleading narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations." Among other things, Twitter is censoring any claim that this vaccine might be used to "control populations."
So whatever you do, don't say this is social control. If you do, the richest, most powerful people in the world will act in perfect coordination to shut you down immediately. To repeat: There is no social control going on here, but if you suggest otherwise, Twitter will censor you.
In addition, Facebook has now decided it must "build demand for vaccination in communities worldwide" by sharing "reassuring information" about getting the vaccine. Mark Zuckerberg was a tech tycoon. Now he's a professional marketer who gets to control the conversation about the product he's selling. Facebook has announced it will squelch "any misinformation" it sees about this vaccine. (Fox News)
“Censorship will not convince a single person to take the vaccine,” he argued. “Instead, it will have the opposite effect. If you wanted to roll out a national vaccination campaign, the first thing you would need after the vaccine itself is social trust."
But censorship, he added, "is the enemy of social trust."
Part 1/2: Don't question the Coronavirus vaccine. pic.twitter.com/haEGpLusth
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 18, 2020
In response, progressives accused Carlson of spreading misinformation, “going anti-vaxxer,” being “insane,” and lying.