Anthony Fauci is the American physician, scientist, and immunologist who serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President. I have never met him in person but, from all that I know about him, I have great respect for him and his work (he also happens to share with me a John Maddox Prize for standing up for science; he received it in 2020 and I in 2015). Not everyone, however, shares my admiration for Fauci.
This week Lara Logan, a host on Fox News’ streaming platform Fox Nation, confirmed Godwin’s law by comparing Dr. Anthony Fauci to Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor who performed some of the most horrific experiments on Jewish twins at Auschwitz Concentration Camp during the Third Reich: “This is what people say to me: He doesn’t represent science,” the former “Logan of Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He represents Josef Mengele … the Nazi doctor who did experiments on Jews during the Second World War in the concentration camps. And I am talking about people all across the world are saying this! Because the response from COVID. What it has done to countries everywhere. What it has done to civil liberties. The suicide rates. The poverty.”
She made the comment during an appearance on “Fox News Primetime,” following a rant about how there was “no justification for putting people out of their jobs or forcing mandates” for a disease that has death rates “that compare very much to seasonal flu.” (The death rate from COVID-19 is up to 10 times higher than that of most strains of the flu.)
Only hours after the comments by Logan, the Fox News host, Tucker Carlson has compared Dr Anthony Fauci to Italian fascist World War II dictator Benito Mussolini. Holocaust comparisons have become a common feature of protests against COVID-19 strategies. Conservative politicians and media personalities have repeatedly compared vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.
The US is sadly not alone. In Germany and Austria, such comparisons between the atrocities of the Third Reich and COVID vaccinations have become common too. In Germany, this has gone so far that the judiciary is now taking action against people who compare Corona politics with the crimes of Nazis.
Personally, I find these comparisons not just stupid but despicable, and I agree that they should be outlawed. Journalists, in particular, must know that by employing this type of rhetoric, they act against all decency and undermine our efforts to protect the public from the pandemic. I, therefore, feel that Logan, Carlson, and anyone else who descends that low should be prosecuted.
64 Responses to Despicable anti-vax comments from American right-wing journalists
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EE: . I, therefore, feel that Logan, Carlson, and anyone else who descends that low should be prosecuted.
So you want it to be a crime if someone says something you don’t like?
Shall we censor journalists to only say what the government (science) approves?
Of course you’re entitled to your feelings and views but it appears ironic in light of the topic.
I want it to be a crime if someone
1) belittles the atrocities committed during the Third Reich
2) endangers our efforts to keep the public safe
Freedom of speech means you can voice your opinions. It does not permit you to make up your own facts.
I imagine that this is a difficult insight for chiros.
@DC
Do you seriously think that comparing people to some of the most despicable war criminals in history is just fine? That we should just accept this exceptionally foul slander as ‘freedom of opinion’, and shrug it off – especially when the victim of this slander not only does his absolute stinking best to save as many lives as possible, but does so in a humble, low-profile manner, even managing to do his duty as best he could in that hellish snake pit called ‘the Trump Administration’? Do you really think that we should just think it’s OK when someone WHO HAS NEVER DONE A THING WRONG IN HIS LIFE is demonized like this?
And what makes this slander particularly sickening is that it is uttered by a couple of top dogs from what calls itself a ‘News Channel’ (‘sewer’ is more appropriate), and that as a consequence, literally millions of people lap up this vile crap as the gospel truth. Because THIS is what inspires not-too-bright people to go out and commit murder.
I would appreciate if you would reconsider your opinion in this case, or at least acknowledge that other people may consider this kind of completely unjustified demonization criminally offensive.
@Richard Rasker
Unfortunately, lot of people in US, especially on the right think (thanks to president 45 and news channel that you refer to as sewer) that slandering, and hatemongering is okay because right to free speech allows them to say anything and everything and not face criticism or consequences. I am not at all surprised when Individual Freedumb Warriors like DC go to great lengths to defend purveyors of slander and hate under the guise of free speech. It is just another day in the sh*t hole we on this side of the pond call USA.
I support legal free speech regardless of which side it comes from or it’s content.
“The Supreme Court has held that restrictions on speech because of its content—that is, when the government targets the speaker’s message—generally violate the First Amendment. Laws that prohibit people from criticizing a war, opposing abortion, or advocating high taxes are examples of unconstitutional content-based restrictions. Such laws are thought to be especially problematic because they distort public debate and contradict a basic principle of self-governance: that the government cannot be trusted to decide what ideas or information “the people” should be allowed to hear.”
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-i/interps/266
in the context of your initial statement, I find your comment truly disgusting.
@DC
The statement you quoted from this link talks about the fact that govt. cannot restrict free speech in US. In your effort to cherry-pick you completely ignored the following:
Emphasis mine.
Prof. Ernst is a private individual and he has every right to criticize Logan (or anyone else for that matter), call for her prosecution on his privately owned blog. Whether that prosecution is feasible or not is a different story. He can also ban people from commenting on his blog for any reason.
I am not a lawyer but Logan using false statements to damage Fauci’s reputation clearly qualifies as defamation.
Talker: Prof. Ernst is a private individual and he has every right to criticize Logan (or anyone else for that matter), call for her prosecution on his privately owned blog.
In my first response I wrote: Of course you’re entitled to your feelings and views.
@DC
Good to know. All that hand waving you did is for nothing.
Lara Logan is one of the best, and few remaining good investigative journalist alive today. I’d rather listen to her than almost anybody.
I have no doubt Ruthy! This is one of the most truthful and insightful statement you have ever made on here.
@Ruthy
Lara Logan is a halfwitted neofascist loon with a lengthy record of getting things wrong.
Lara Logan has no agenda.
if you say so
@DC
It IS a crime if someone publicly spreads lies and unwarranted insults that damage another person’s good name – please look up the meaning of the word ‘slander’.
And while you’re at it, please also look up what ‘basic human decency’ means, as it would appear that you are not familiar with this concept either.
She reported what she said others have been telling her. Bad journalism, sure. Poor judgement, sure. A crime?
@DC
Yes, what Logan did is almost certainly a crime, and I think that Fauci has sufficient cause to take her to court over this – and prevail.
However, knowing the man, I’m think he fully realizes that Logan’s disgusting remarks were meant to stir up trouble and garner publicity, especially among the less-than-intelligent right-wing supporters (which I suspect includes you), and that initiating a court case will only serve to amplify this propaganda.
After all, Fauci has served under all presidents, Republican and Democrat alike, from 1984 onwards, with an absolutely stellar, blameless record – probably because he made sure to never ever get caught up in politics. If anyone can be trusted to avoid being sucked in by some stupid incendiary politically motivated name-calling, it is him. After all, he even survived the Trump administration under the most dire of circumstances.
BTW, Logan most certainly did NOT just ‘report what others have been telling her’. I don’t know why you come up with this dumb lie (I suppose it comes naturally to you, as being a quack requires you to lie to gullible saps all the time), but it was Logan herself who made this comparison to Mengele. And even doubled down when several organizations (among which The Auschwitz Museum) urged her to apologize.
But even if Logan did ‘just repeat what others said’, she is still liable, exactly because she is a journalist: lots of people listen to what she says, which means she must be held to higher standards than the man in the street with regard to her utterances.
About Logan herself: it seems that until a few years ago, she was a pretty decent journalist, and on at least one occasion publicly apologized when it turned out that her sources were unreliable. But alas, somehow this all changed after she left CBS News and joined the Trump propaganda bandwagon, ending up at Fox. From that time onward, her ‘reports’ became more erratic and conspiracy-laced, repeating right-wing fake news talking points, and ending up doing the horrible Godwin that is this post’s subject.
very well said – thank you.
You all are speaking of a “scientist” who is currently under scrutiny for potential indictment for lying to the US congress with regard to his statements about gain of function research in Wuhan China.
I doubt he is actually indicted, but the fact remains clear that he did give lying statements to Congress about the subject.
Do you really think there is no controversy about this “scientist” (after all, he claims he is the incarnate representation of science). The same immunologist that from the beginning of the pandemic, got much more wrong than right. The same advisor to the president that flip flopped on many statements… more than one time.
Can we possibly see why “all over the world” … people are speaking bad of Dr. Fauci ? …. hmmm
What controversy ? …. nothing to see here, move along.
Ruthy
You, like all antivax and AltMed loons, wouldn’t recognise what “truth” was if it ran up and bit you on the arse.
You see objective fact being used to wreck your arguments and think you can do the same thing in reverse. But using ‘facts’ which are nothing of the sort.
The Fauci story is entirely cooked. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/29/repeated-claim-that-fauci-lied-congress-about-gain-of-function-research/
Ohhh Lenny dear.
You’re so boring….and wrong.
https://nypost.com/2021/10/21/nih-admits-us-funded-gain-of-function-in-wuhan-despite-faucis-repeated-denials/
I think all rational people can disregard FOX NEWS outright
Oh Edzard, you’re wrong also.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10117619/NIH-ADMITS-funding-gain-function-research-bat-coronaviruses-Chinas-Wuhan-lab.html
DM is not much better
“ but it was Logan herself who made this comparison to Mengele.”
Not in the clip I watched. Feel free to quote her.
Richard Rasker:
I thought that libel and slander were generally prosecuted as civil, not criminal cases, though criminal libel exists in some jurisdictions.
The last criminal libel case that I know of in Australia was in 1951. The accused was found not guilty. I think that it is still on the statute books in some states.
we are not using legal but common language here, I suggest:
criminal = a person who has committed a crime.
crime = an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.
In the US, this would be considered a civil matter.
Any news source who brings up Hitler or 3rd Reich to compare US leaders are idiots. All news sources who do this should pipe down on their personal beliefs and just report the news. Also, Doctors who research should understand US journalism is free and they push political leanings.
Fox News is right leaning, the others are left leaning and all are bias to certain degree.
If a scientist cannot see this obvious fact, how is his research on science to be considered non-bias.
@jim
Seriously? Are you implying that scientists should not speak up when they (and their families) are unfairly attacked by right-wing media and politicians? and your reason being both sides do it?
I think that the fact that a separate offence of criminal libel exists in some jurisdictions indicates that more precise of language would be useful.
I suppose some people find the American constitution disgusting.
have you heard about the saying:
WHEN YOU ARE IN A HOLE, STOP DIGGING!
I am guessing Dr Ernst doesn’t read MSNBC or CNN, multiple journalists comparing republicans to the Third Reich,. Both sides do this all the time. Only ok for one side to do this but others must be arrested. I find you totally disgusting for being extremely subjective on topic.
perhaps you should read up on what Mengele did before you make stupid statements.
We were taught about Hitler and Mengele in high school, for me 35 yrs ago. Mangele is well known and taught here in the states. Any twins growing up in my time were traumatized learning this.
then why do post nonsense?
it was not the Third Reich issue but the Mengele issue that was the libellous insult.
My point is that Comparisons of Hitler or Mengele is the same. Republicans are called Hitler everyday in left leaning news sources. Because of my last name I am called a Nazi. Mengele worked for Hitler, they are the same psychopaths.
I know – but it’s an idiotic point.
the Third Reich also built motorways and made trains run in time.
Yup, Jim was correct.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberals-ridiculing-conservatives-frequent-rhetoric-hitler-terrorists
This broad brush slander from the left on the conservative collective was regurgitated endlessly after the election last year. Not by one or two liberal media personalities, but numerous persons and media outlets. In politics, media and famous artists. The idea was (an is) that 80M Trump voters need to be sent to camps and re-educated.
For voting to re-elect a sitting president. The narrative continues today.
Fascism can cut both ways, from the left or the right.
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2021/january/katie-couric-says-trump-supporters-need-to-be-deprogrammed
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/01/12/take-their-children-away-project-veritas-exposes-pbs-principal-counsels-violent-hatred-of-republicans-1015668/
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/01/12/take-their-children-away-project-veritas-exposes-pbs-principal-counsels-violent-hatred-of-republicans-1015668/
If you google this subject you will find literally hundreds of media coverage on the subject.
If the professor will permit the post of a youtube video I should like to post.
I know many will not give attention to this, so why not use my own thoughts and words to express my position on Dr. Fauci.
Dr. Fauci became the subject of this blog because Lara Logan and Tucker Carlson both used their platforms to intentionally portray the fouch as an evil character.
I have attempted to explain why and how Logan and many other arrived at this conclusion of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
I offer this video of US Senator Ron Johnson giving his views on the subject. He covers the subject in 30 minutes what would take quite a bit a time and space to post here in words.
This professor is the view and opinion of what many many people worldwide hold of Dr. Fauci, and how it became so entrenched. I offer it as “evidence”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b08Hi3kBpSs
Whether you agree with Johnson or not, this is the widely held view of Fauci, and his dealings with the Covid pandemic.
@Ruthy
I don’t know what you and Ron Johnson are smoking but as we discussed the other day, Fauci doesn’t exist and “COVID” is not real. Any “evidence” you provide to the contrary is FAKE NEWS!!!
Now if you will excuse me, I am out of bacon and I need to go shoot some flying pigs.
@Honest Ape
Fake news IS the main-stream media…. as Johnson reveals (if you at all listened to his presentation)
And, you are one of the sheeple that gets sucked into the lies of the main stream media.
You agree with the professor that if the fouch gets insulted, it’s a literal crime that someone should be jailed for.
But if you suggest that Senator Ron Johnson is high on drugs … no issues.
The same ole double standards.
Ruthy, you do not need to constantly prove to us that your capacity of critical thinking is close to zero; we believe you as it is.
@Ruthy
ROFL…you make demonstrably false statements. Either you suffer from lack of reading skills or an outright liar. I am the antithesis of the Professor. I never agreed with him or the mainstream media on this matter. Quote me if you think I did.
Here is what I said:
I don’t give a rat’s ass about some non-existent person getting insulted by some lunatic on tv. A pan troglodyte like me can see thru your pathetic lies. Read and think before you respond, that is of course predicated on you having a handful of functioning neurons in your brain.
@jim
This blog post condemns the comments from two journalists. It does NOT criticize particular political leanings or news outlets, other than that both journalists work for the same one.
Comments like this are always wrong, regardless of who makes them. If CNN or MSNBC journalists do this, they too should be chastised – and here’s one such example that I could find: https://www.trtworld.com/video/nexus/cnns-amanpour-apologises-for-comparing-the-trump-era-to-nazi-pogroms/5fb536fd46e7130017c1c104
Contrary to Mrs. Logan, Amanpour had the decency to apologize for her mistake.
Apart from this, this kind of tu quoque fallacy is generally unhelpful, and only serves to further poison and polarize the atmosphere of debate among opponents. And that is a shame really, because apparently, you totally to agree with us on the point that Nazi comparisons are Not Good.
I agree to a certain degree, our Dr. Ernst wants only one side to be jailed. Only reason Dr. Ernst wants these people in jail is because they hurt his feelings, in my country this is a civil matter, not criminal. I don’t know who Lara is but she hosted US news outlet and made some horrible comparisons in my eyes, per article. She can say anything she wants just like hosts on other media sites. She can be sued but not criminally brought on trial, it is free speech and government cannot touch her. In last 5 yrs, many left leaning journalist made comparisons of conservative’s and Hitler, not one blog post from our fine Dr.
To be condemned, yes, to be placed in criminal court, no.
Maybe it is our laws that he does not understand, free speech is one of our great freedoms.
where did I say that I want anyone in jail?
where did I say that I want only one side prosecuted?
Just in case article is edited. I 100% agree with this statement though, just can’t be done here in the US, constitution and supreme court rulings on free speech. Maybe prosecuted is different meaning in your area, think it might be.
“Personally, I find these comparisons not just stupid but despicable, and I agree that they should be outlawed. Journalists, in particular, must know that by employing this type of rhetoric, they act against all decency and undermine our efforts to protect the public from the pandemic. I, therefore, feel that Logan, Carlson, and anyone else who descends that low should be prosecuted.”
please!
‘prosecuted’ is NOT the same as being put in jail
‘outlawed’ neither.
there are other punishments if found guilty
Since I cannot reply to your last comment, will do on this one.
Prosecute in US is a criminal court setting and term, maybe different in UK, Germany, France where you come from. If a prosecutor in the US wins his case, there will be a jail/probation sentence for the defendant. There is no prosecutor in civil cases.
Maybe our definitions are different, I could understand that. US free speech is the strongest in world, it means free speech. It does not mean you are free of repercussions from others though.
in the post, I wrote OUTLAW. i.e. make illegal – not PUT IN JAIL
@jim
Our host understands your laws perfectly well.
Somehow I fear that many Americans don’t understand or value their own laws.
Free speech ends where lies, slander and unwarranted hate-mongering start.
Logan’s comments are Wrong, and should not be shrugged off with the lame excuse of ‘free speech’ – not only because that means that hate messages such as these are condoned, but also because it actually diminishes the (admittedly high) value of ‘free speech’.
Also note that ‘freedoms’ are almost never absolute. One person’s freedom to say whatever they want must be balanced with other people’s freedom to NOT be insulted or accused without proper justification.
And no, simply disagreeing with the way Fauci handles the Covid-19 crisis is no justification for comparing the man to a despicable torturer and one of the worst Nazi criminals ever to walk upon this earth. Fauci is doing his absolute best to SAVE lives, not destroy them.
Please read my comment again…..don’t miss the “repercussion” part. The government cannot prosecute you in the US on speech unless you make a direct threat to harm a person. The people can ostracize, cancel you, make your life miserable, and possibly take you to civil court for slander or defamation.
I have not compared Fauci to anyone, I would not and do not condone what that journalist stated.
I will not ask my government to prosecute her, she has right to opinion, she did not threaten him in any way to warrant a criminal charge according to our laws.
Our free speech is absolute, your bold point do not work in our courts, it works in what I stated above.
@jim
As I said: many Americans don’t understand or value their own laws. You appear to be one of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_free_speech_exceptions
And specifically:
“Defamation that causes harm to reputation is a tort and also an exception to free speech.”
It is up to Fauci if he wants to have this lady legally prosecuted or not. I think he has enough cause for this, but I also think he doesn’t want to stoop to this lady’s level by actually taking what she says seriously.
Good. Let’s keep it at that, shall we?
Richard, from what I heard in her report, she is stating what others have told her. I didn’t hear her specifically state that that is her view. Perhaps a back handed means to slide her views into the report, but as stated did she commit a crime?
I certainly think she should offer a clarification and/or an apology for not being more clear or stating that those who are making such statements are in the wrong.
But as a journalist she has the legal freedom to report what others are saying.
I believe that DC is correct.
The jab against Fauci was presented to the public as what others are saying to Logan. She never made the comparison as a representation of her view, although we can easily assume she agrees. I think she was care not to libel herself.
Furthermore, many of the Fox News programs like Tucker Carlson, Hannity and Ingram are sold as OPINION programs. CNN & MSNBC also have equal opinion programs. Opinion programs can get away with saying much more than “news” programs.
@DC
OK, let’s get her actual words:
Yes, as she claims “this is what people say to me … He represents Josef Mengele”.
So what ‘people all around the world’ are saying this? Who says things like this? I don’t know anybody who makes comparisons like this. Yes, perhaps if you join private social media antivaccine and hate groups, then you may find some very stupid people who say this. But I very seriously doubt that people actually tell Logan the things she claims.
I strongly suspect that she is lying, just to evade any responsibility for this comparison – just like the rest of her comments are mostly lies:
“Really now, there is no justification for putting people out of their jobs …”
This is a lie. Unemployment is at its lowest since the beginning of the pandemic, and still trending down.
“… or forcing vaccine mandates for a disease that ultimately is very treatable.”
This is a lie. Covid-19 is NOT ‘very treatable’. What are those 15,000 Covid-infected Americans doing in ICU’s around the country if this disease is ‘very treatable’? How come over 815,000 Americans died from this disease that is ‘very treatable’?
“It’s cheap to treat.”
This is a lie. Hospitalization costs upwards of $500 per day, and ICU care costs upwards of $2,500 per day. One antiviral monoclonal antibody treatment costs $2000. This is not what I would consider ‘cheap’.
“Medicines are available all over the world.”
This is a lie. The only medicine that works reasonably well is the aforementioned monoclonal antibody treatment, and this most definitely is not ‘available all over the world’.
“And it has death rates that compare very much to seasonal flu.”
This is a lie. Covid-19 kills about 1% of those it infects. Seasonal flu kills about 0.1% of infected people.
“… because the response from COVID, what it has done to countries everywhere,… ”
Well, yes, you can’t just let one percent of your population die and do nothing, pretending nothing bad is happening. And don’t forget the economic impact of millions of sick people, even if they don’t die.
“… what it has done to civil liberties, …”
I’d say all those restrictions are only minor nuisances compared to the restrictions associated with being dead, or dealing with lots of sick and dying people.
“… the suicide rates, …”
This is a lie. Contrary to expectations, it suicide rates stayed the same or even dropped. This is in line with data from other countries, such as the Netherlands.
Covid-19 or its countermeasures are NOT associated with a surge in suicides AT ALL.
“… the poverty, …”
This is a lie.
“… it has obliterated economies. …”
This is a lie. Many countries are doing surprisingly well economically, and Covid-19 measures certainly have NOT ‘obliterated’ any economies.
“The level of suffering that has been created because of this disease is now being seen in the cold light of day. I.e., the truth.”
This is a lie. Logan suggests that the disease is not a problem, but that the countermeasures cause a huge amount of ‘suffering’. She really has no idea what she is talking about.
“And people see that there is no justification for what is being done.”
And again, I strongly believe that those ‘people’ don’t actually exist, and that she is venting her personal opinion here.
So yes, I think she deserves to be punished – not just for her horrible slander of Fauci, but also for her numerous outrageous lies – especially because she pretends to be a journalist.
“ OK, let’s get her actual words:
Yes, as she claims “this is what people say to me … He represents Josef Mengele”.”
So we agree she is reporting what others have said to her.
Now look at what Ernst wrote:
“Personally, I find these comparisons not just stupid but despicable, and I agree that they should be outlawed.
I, therefore, feel that Logan, Carlson, and anyone else who descends that low should be prosecuted.”
Prosecuted for reporting what others are saying?
Dear Richard
You are so inept
You said:
““Really now, there is no justification for putting people out of their jobs …”
This is a lie. Unemployment is at its lowest since the beginning of the pandemic, and still trending down.”
The fact that unemployment number is down speaks nothing to how many lost their jobs due to the reaction to the pandemic. You’re only looking at numbers…. not the individual people.
Those that are currently working are not necessarily those that were laid off, terminated, closed businesses or choose to leave due to tyranny of vaccine mandates.
Please, you consider yourself a critical thinker ? …. sheesh !
That basic rational.
I had no appetite to read the rest of your post.
Dear Ruthy,
It is quite possible some people have lost jobs as a result of Covid-19 measures. Other people have gotten jobs as a result of Covid-19 measures. So what is your point? That we should accept Logan’s lies because there may be exceptions to those lies?
You are so inept.
Anyway, this is drifting way off-topic, and also I’m fed up with my role as a kindergarten teacher, so I’ll just keep it at this. Have a nice life, and don’t believe everything you see and read, regardless of political leaning or popularity.
I was censored finally, thanks for showing true colors. You are non-biased in science but not politics, your Achilles’ heel. Maybe I hit a nerve on last post?
I was to fast on censorship post, might be our time difference for approval. Thank you and I apologize for jumping conclusion.