YouTube removes Jordan Peterson's interview with RFK Jr., citing vaccine 'misinformation'



YouTube has removed Dr. Jordan Peterson's recent interview with Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from its platform, claiming the conversation was in violation of its "general vaccine misinformation policy."

The duo — whose dialogue the Google-owned platform determined should not be heard by prospective voters — have been joined by countless critics in denouncing the move.

In the 95-minute interview published on June 5, entitled "Rekindling the Spirit of the Classic Democrat," Peterson, a clinical psychologist, broached various topics with the presidential candidate, including Kennedy's candidacy, COVID-19 vaccines, the collapse of the mainstream media, woke ideological capture, the environment, and the possibility of salvaging the Democratic Party.

Some in the liberal media have taken issue in particular with Kennedy's suggestion that the "soup of toxic chemicals," including "endocrine disruptors," that children are allegedly being exposed to may be linked to "a lot of the sexual dysphoria that we're seeing."

The Independent highlighted Kennedy's suggestion that "There’s atrazine throughout our water supply. ... Atrazine, by the way, if you in a lab put atrazine in a tank full of frogs, it will chemically castrate and forcefully feminize every frog in there. And 10% of the frogs, the male frogs will turn into fully viable females able to produce viable eggs. If it’s doing that to frogs, it could, there’s a lot of other evidence that it’s doing to human beings as well."

YouTube said in a statement Monday, "We removed a video from the Jordan Peterson channel for violating YouTube’s general vaccine misinformation policy, which prohibits content that alleges that vaccines cause chronic side effects, outside of rare side effects that are recognized by health authorities."

The platform's vaccine misinformation policy states, "Don't post content on YouTube if it includes harmful misinformation about currently approved and administered vaccines."

Discussions of vaccine safety, particularly "content alleging that vaccines cause chronic side effects, outside of rare side effects that are recognized by health authorities," along with remarks about the efficacy and ingredients of vaccines are verboten.

For instance, YouTube forbids the suggestion that vaccines can cause cancer or diabetes; do not reduce the risk of contracting illness; "contain substances that are not on the vaccine ingredient list, such as biological matter from fetuses"; and that vaccines can cause chronic side effects such as infertility.

Kennedy, the 69-year-old son of assassinated former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of assassinated former President John F. Kennedy, stressed that this censorship amounts to "blatant interference in the electoral process" and further evidence that YouTube is a "propaganda outlet." He also thanked Elon Musk, noting that Twitter continues to host the video.

In a Sunday Twitter thread, the Democratic presidential candidate wrote, "Maybe you can help me figure out what 'misinformation' was in this interview. ... Do you really need Big Tech censors to decide what you would hear? Or would you prefer to be treated as a competent adult who can listen to various viewpoints and come to his or her own conclusions?"

Peterson denounced the "commissars" at YouTube for what he similarly regarded as election interference, adding, "If there were any real journalists left among the legacy media they'd be up in arms about this."

Extra to chastising the mainstream media for its apparent indifference to the silencing of a presidential candidate by a corporate behemoth, Peterson called out Democrats, stating, "The slippery slope is now headed your way and you richly deserve it."

It would appear some Democrats are happy to see Biden's top Democratic opponent silenced.

Bakari Sellers, a CNN commentator and former Democratic state representative in South Carolina, recently told The Hill that Kennedy "is probably the best example of an apple falling from the tree and rolling into a whole other orchard — parroting Putin talking points and so on. He is not John, he is not Robert, and he is more associated with the likes of [podcaster] Joe Rogan and Elon Musk than he is with James Clyburn or Hakeem Jeffries."

"You can’t let cancers metastasize," added Sellers.

YouTube's excision of Kennedy's interview from its platform is not the first time Silicon Valley has attempted to squelch the speech of Biden's rival.

In February 2021, Instagram shut down his account, claiming Kennedy repeatedly shared "debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines." That ban was reversed after Kennedy announced his presidential bid in April.

Last summer, Instagram and its parent company Facebook removed the accounts for Kennedy's nonprofit, Children's Health Defense, from their platforms, again claiming they had advanced "misinformation" during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported the New York Times.

Kennedy has invited the American public to "make a video and post it to @YouTube telling them what you think" as it pertains to the platform's apparent decision to remain a "propaganda outlet" rather than "a modern-day public square."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Liberal MSNBC host tells Peter Hotez not to debate RFK Jr.; likens Kennedy to a Holocaust denier



Vaccine promoter Peter Hotez remains unwilling to agree to a debate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over whether the Democratic presidential candidate's criticisms of the COVID-19 vaccines amount to "misinformation" — even though Joe Rogan and a cadre of interested parties have together volunteered to donate over $2.6 million to the charity of his choosing.

Hotez appears more than happy to talk, just not to those with dissenting viewpoints for charity's sake.

He appeared Sunday on MSNBC's "Mehdi Hasan Show," in part to peddle his new book, but also to take more digs at Kennedy, suggesting that joining him on Rogan's podcast for a debate would "turn it into 'The Jerry Springer Show.'"

Hasan, in turn, condemned the prospect of debate and likened Kennedy to a "Holocaust denier."

What's the background?

TheBlaze previously reported that Hotez, a self-described "internationally-recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development," drew Rogan's ire on Saturday by circulating a hit piece from a bankrupted leftist blog that bemoaned Spotify's reluctance to censor the podcast host over so-called "misinformation."

The article, by Anna Merlan, focused on Rogan's recent interview with Kennedy, in which the two discussed the possible fallout from various pharmaceutical initiatives, including the COVID-19 vaccines.

Hotez tweeted, "Spotify Has Stopped Even Sort of Trying to Stem Joe Rogan’s Vaccine Misinformation. It’s really true ⁦@annamerlan⁩ just awful. And from all the online attacks I’m receiving after this absurd podcast, it’s clear many actually believe this nonsense."

Rogan quickly fired back with a proposal: "Peter, if you claim what RFKjr is saying is 'misinformation' I am offering you $100,000.00 to the charity of your choice if you’re willing to debate him on my show with no time limit."

Others have since volunteered funds to the charity debate pot, reportedly now over $2.62, including Cosmos founder Jae Kwon ($777,000), kickboxer Andrew Tate ($500,000), billionaire investor Bill Ackman ($150,000), Steve Kirsch ($100,00), and podcast host Tim Pool ($100,000).

RFK Jr. accepted the challenge: "Peter. Let’s finally have the respectful, congenial, informative debate that the American people deserve."

Hotez responded to Rogan, but then quickly deleted the tweet: "Be serious Joe, that's what you throw out for your hunting buddies on a weekend. $50 million endowment (which You/Spotify/RFK Jr. can easily afford), not for me but so we can continue making low-cost patent-free vaccines for the world's poor. Preceded by RFK Jr.'s public apology."

While Hotez later stated he was "happy to come on and clear the air," he did not agree to the debate.

Echoing a popular sentiment online, scientist Bret Weinstein noted, "If Hotez believed his own press, he’d debate. Big money going to a good cause neutralizes the 'dignifying' argument and winning would be a decisive victory against RFK Jr.’s perspective, which gains ground daily. But @PeterHotez would have to win and he can’t, for obvious reasons."

Elon Musk jumped into the fray by replying, "Maybe @PeterHotez just hates charity," adding, "He's afraid of a public debate, because he knows he's wrong."

\u201c@joerogan He\u2019s afraid of a public debate, because he knows he\u2019s wrong\u201d
— Joe Rogan (@Joe Rogan) 1687045901

Tom Nichols, a staff writer at the Atlantic, pre-empted Hasan in suggesting that "no medical professional should ever agree to this. Never. It elevates the conspiracy guy, demeans the medical professional, and will only convince the kooks out there that RFK is right because a real doctor took the time to debate him. Never debate a conspiracy theorist."

Rogan said in reply, "That would be a great suggestion if you could assure that the industry you were representing wasn’t completely captured by heartless monsters who have a history of some of the biggest criminal fines in human history because their deception has cost hundreds of thousands of people their lives. It would be a great suggestion if the industry you were defending didn’t occasionally look at human beings as an opportunity to generate insane wealth regardless of the tragic consequences."

"You can't do that, so... maybe it would be a good idea to have a f***ing debate," added Rogan, who went on to retweet a video by Matt Orfalea calling Hotez "The Great Double-Talking Vaccine Scientist."

\u201cThe Great Double-Talking Vaccine Scientist\u201d
— Matt Orfalea (@Matt Orfalea) 1686762931

Hasan's warm embrace

Hotez took a break from retweeting posts praising his record Sunday to appear on Hasan's show.

Dressed in a lab coat, Hotez told the MSNBC host, "During the COVID pandemic ... 200,000 Americans needlessly perished because they believed the anti-vaccine disinformation and refused to take a COVID vaccine during the Delta wave and Ba1 Omicron wave in 2021, 2022, after vaccines were widely available. So the point is anti-vaccine disinformation, it's always done a lot of damage and harm, but now it's a lethal force in the United States."

"That's why we have to have that discussion," Hotez said, adding he was still happy to do so one on one with Rogan, just not with Kennedy present.

“In science, we don’t typically do debates," he told Hasan. "What we do is we write scientific papers. … One doesn’t typically debate science. Maybe the one-off discussion of evolution versus creationism and that sort of thing, but that’s not what we do in science.”

Hasan — whose network advanced the claim in 2021 that the COVID vaccine completely protects against symptoms and transmission — noted he was "fed up" with invitations to debate the issues, intimating that Hotez's writing and past appearances on corporate news programs were themselves satisfactory.

After stressing his antipathy for corrective exchanges of ideas, Hasan then accused Kennedy of contributing to a "vaccine misinformation culture that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of lives" and likened him to a "Holocaust denier."

The MSNBC host invoked his own book on the art of debating, then stressed the importance of Hotez avoiding a debate for fear of "elevating the cranks."

\u201c.@PeterHotez responds to being asked to debate anti-vaxxer RFK Jr.\n\n"Anti-vaccine disinformation...is now a lethal force in the United States. I offered to go on Joe Rogan but not to turn it into the Jerry Springer show with having RFK Jr. on."\u201d
— The Mehdi Hasan Show (@The Mehdi Hasan Show) 1687136665

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Vaccine stocks nosedive after Biden administration makes global vow



The stock prices of several coronavirus vaccine developers took sharp downturns on Wednesday, after the Biden administration announced it supports stripping away vaccine patent protections so the formulas can be shared with the world to produce generics.

What are the details?

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced in the afternoon that the administration supports waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.

Tai said in a statement:

"This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed to make that happen. Those negotiations will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issues involved.

CNBC reported that following the news, shares of vaccine producers Pfizer, Biontech, Novavax, and Moderna all plunged "to session lows."

Pfizer, Biontech, Novavax, Moderna shares plunge to session lows after U.S. backs waiving patent protections on Cov… https://t.co/vvvLPDDr1X

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) 1620242460.0

The outlet reported that following the sharp drops, "Pfizer ended its trading day flat, while Moderna lost 6.1%; Johnson & Johnson shed a modest 0.4%."

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group that represents several of the pharmaceutical companies impacted, slammed the Biden administration's move.

"In the midst of a deadly pandemic, the Biden Administration has taken an unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety," the group's president and CEO, Stephen J. Ubi, told CNBC. "This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines."

Reactions to the news were split on social media, with some people slamming the move and saying that pharmaceutical firms should be able to profit off the development of the vaccines. One person wrote, "This current administration has no understanding of the great lengths that went into development of these life saving vaccines. These companies should be able to profit from there (sic) hard work."

Another expressed concern over the precedent that the Biden administration's policy sets, tweeting, "Pretty extraordinary step. Once this box is opened I think it will be hard to limit it only to COVID. What about cancer drugs? What if we get a cure for Alzheimer's? Are those really less important than COVID-19? This has major ramifications for IP going forward in the U.S."

But others argued that sharing the vaccine technology was more important than profits. Akshaya Kumar, the crisis advocacy for Human Rights Watch, wrote, "Thanks for taking this bold position @AmbassadorTai! By doing so, the US may help turn the tide on this pandemic and save countless lives globally."

Some pointed out the pharmaceutical companies had received a hefty amount of taxpayer funds for the speedy development of the shots under former President Donald Trump's "Operation Warp Speed."

One person replied, "Taxpayers funded this, not the companies. They took almost no risk, just reaped reward. All this is doing is asking them -- who, again, did not pay for this and risked functionally nothing -- to accept slightly less of a reward."

Time magazine reported in December that Operation Warp Speed "allocated more than $12 billion to vaccine makers" for the development (including research and clinical studies) and manufacturing of the first 300 million doses.

Six deals were made between the U.S. government and individual firms or partnerships, including Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Novavax, and undertakings by AstraZeneca-Oxford, Sanofi-GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Fox Business reported in March that the deals are still rolling in for approved U.S. vaccine producers not only from the federal government, but from countries abroad.

At that point, Pfizer and BioNTech expected to split $15 billion in vaccine revenues by the end of 2021, while Moderna expected $18.4 billion in advanced sales and Johnson & Johnson was on on track to pull in roughly $10 billion by the end of the year.

Those potential revenues could look entirely different if the formulas are spread to other firms globally.