Last week Peter Hotez experienced pile-ons, stalking, and bullying after events unfolded on Twitter. So much so that law enforcement got involved. A complete nightmare. He’s not alone. These nightmares are now a common occurrence for scientists and physicians in public health. Both online and offline. For vaccines. For gun violence. For reproductive health. And apparently for wildfires now, too.
This is frightening. I am so tired of the bullying and threats against scientists and truth tellers. We need you. We need science. It is so important that brave public voices like yours do not back down (while of course I am totally empathetic to the fatigue and fear). The sane public needs to protect and support. I for one will do all I can. Thank you for your tenacious and important public service!
Jun 27, 2023·edited Jun 27, 2023Liked by Katelyn Jetelina
Absolutely correct. This is why I support you. To quote a founder, we either hang together or we’ll hang separately. At least go down fighting together!
[Added later:] I just threw down a hundred bucks for ya. I know this wasn’t a fundraising email—but I clicked upgrade. Money following mouth! 🙂
Thank you. The rapid access to information from experts, doctors, epidemiologists, nurses, long covid sufferers, etc. available online has been life saving. Hope the society can find a way to balance all of this. It is easier to disseminate lies as it is to share truth. Your voice is very valuable.
Several of the comments here demonstrate exactly why this continues to happen, namely one political faction preferring conspiracy theories over actual evidence and data. The events of January 6th, 2021 have sadly shown us that this type of violence, harassment, and threats will likely never go away. That said, we have to keep on fighting with actual facts.
I'm in solidarity with you and other scientists. And I also fear you are the canaries in the coal mine, because if we let the anti science mob get away with targeting you, they will come after other public servants, and health care workers.
We have to get past this toxic stew of neo-libearlism which promotes the idea that society shouldn't exist - but individual consumers are king, so attacking social ideas like public health is legit.
Forgive my language but we all know that Twitter is now a misogynistic jerk-off session for insecure men. This would be the last place I’d go to to learn anything.
The irony that these morons would view science as “Bad” on Elon’s site, who’s entire profit hinges on scientific advancement, is as pleasing as it is sad.
Thank you for continuing to do this and communicating. I'm listening and sharing. I know many others are too. Here's hoping for a shift back to facts and civility.
And yet the worst harassment is from other scientists. Any scientist who was honest about the likelihood of lab leak theory being true in 2020 and 2021 was committing career suicide. So that not only adversely affected scientists, but the science itself.
I am so sorry that you and others in your field have had to endure this! The very people who are trying to protect us! This is such a sad reflection on our society. You are in my prayers!
This should not be happening. I have the greatest admiration for the head of our local public health department, who was trolled, doxxed, harassed and threatened during most of the last three years. She is now leaving the area, but will continue her career in public health in another area.
So much is owed to her, to you, and to the other brave scientists and health leaders who endured such abuse as they worked to inform us about public health issues. Thank you and I’m sorry.
The bullying began when some reputable scientists expressed doubts about lock downs and vaccine efficacy. That bullying was by public health officials and media outlets such as CNN.
At what point will mass media and public health leaders take responsibility for the overreach in actions and dialogue over the past 3 years? There is virtually zero walking-back, zero apology for anything that was said or done that was based on ideology and not science. (And this blog is not immune to that criticism.) Worse, some people are revising their positions as if we weren't paying attention over the past 3 years. It is wholly inadequate for people to use "they just wanted to help" as an excuse especially when the "helping" involved half-truths and lies.
If this is not worth it to you, no one is harassing you *into* doing it. Blow it all up and go back to whatever you were doing before the pandemic. I would submit that the increase in so many people's profiles over the past 3 years, often through fear-mongering, *is* worth it to them, and that's why they keep doing it.
If illegal actions are taking place, laws exist to hold bad actors to account. Otherwise, public people should expect public criticism, despite social media or public opinion leading some of the public to hiding their views out of fear of demonetizing, losing their social media account, or negative consequences at work. Who will speak to the harassment they endure?
Having read the comments it is difficult to know what to say that will not create ire. Perhaps I can observe that many of the comments posted here appear to be based on information coming from the media. At least one person specifically mentions a media outlet and singles it out for criticism. I am not a fan of the media. I am not a fan of the left wing media. I am not a fan of the right wing media. I am not a fan of the center media (though they are the best of the lot). I am not a fan of the media. The media distorts. The media distorts in order to keep us coming back for more. It distorts by intentionally producing stories that activate our sympathetic nervous system so that we feel threatened. We feel threatened and so we keep coming back to find release, but there is no release. There are only more stories that keep us engaged. When one story has run it course, they find a new one that keeps us in fight-or-flight. This is how they make money. We are the fuel of their economic engine. I have cut out 98% of the media from my life (I read the BBC website). I am much happier! I have stopped blaming people. I am no longer fearful. I hope that you can have a similar experience.
This is frightening. I am so tired of the bullying and threats against scientists and truth tellers. We need you. We need science. It is so important that brave public voices like yours do not back down (while of course I am totally empathetic to the fatigue and fear). The sane public needs to protect and support. I for one will do all I can. Thank you for your tenacious and important public service!
I'm so sorry this is happening. Scientists are heroes in public health. Many of us would literally be dead without you.
Absolutely correct. This is why I support you. To quote a founder, we either hang together or we’ll hang separately. At least go down fighting together!
[Added later:] I just threw down a hundred bucks for ya. I know this wasn’t a fundraising email—but I clicked upgrade. Money following mouth! 🙂
Thank you. The rapid access to information from experts, doctors, epidemiologists, nurses, long covid sufferers, etc. available online has been life saving. Hope the society can find a way to balance all of this. It is easier to disseminate lies as it is to share truth. Your voice is very valuable.
Several of the comments here demonstrate exactly why this continues to happen, namely one political faction preferring conspiracy theories over actual evidence and data. The events of January 6th, 2021 have sadly shown us that this type of violence, harassment, and threats will likely never go away. That said, we have to keep on fighting with actual facts.
I'm in solidarity with you and other scientists. And I also fear you are the canaries in the coal mine, because if we let the anti science mob get away with targeting you, they will come after other public servants, and health care workers.
We have to get past this toxic stew of neo-libearlism which promotes the idea that society shouldn't exist - but individual consumers are king, so attacking social ideas like public health is legit.
Forgive my language but we all know that Twitter is now a misogynistic jerk-off session for insecure men. This would be the last place I’d go to to learn anything.
The irony that these morons would view science as “Bad” on Elon’s site, who’s entire profit hinges on scientific advancement, is as pleasing as it is sad.
Thank you for continuing to do this and communicating. I'm listening and sharing. I know many others are too. Here's hoping for a shift back to facts and civility.
And yet the worst harassment is from other scientists. Any scientist who was honest about the likelihood of lab leak theory being true in 2020 and 2021 was committing career suicide. So that not only adversely affected scientists, but the science itself.
I am so sorry that you and others in your field have had to endure this! The very people who are trying to protect us! This is such a sad reflection on our society. You are in my prayers!
This should not be happening. I have the greatest admiration for the head of our local public health department, who was trolled, doxxed, harassed and threatened during most of the last three years. She is now leaving the area, but will continue her career in public health in another area.
So much is owed to her, to you, and to the other brave scientists and health leaders who endured such abuse as they worked to inform us about public health issues. Thank you and I’m sorry.
The bullying began when some reputable scientists expressed doubts about lock downs and vaccine efficacy. That bullying was by public health officials and media outlets such as CNN.
At what point will mass media and public health leaders take responsibility for the overreach in actions and dialogue over the past 3 years? There is virtually zero walking-back, zero apology for anything that was said or done that was based on ideology and not science. (And this blog is not immune to that criticism.) Worse, some people are revising their positions as if we weren't paying attention over the past 3 years. It is wholly inadequate for people to use "they just wanted to help" as an excuse especially when the "helping" involved half-truths and lies.
If this is not worth it to you, no one is harassing you *into* doing it. Blow it all up and go back to whatever you were doing before the pandemic. I would submit that the increase in so many people's profiles over the past 3 years, often through fear-mongering, *is* worth it to them, and that's why they keep doing it.
If illegal actions are taking place, laws exist to hold bad actors to account. Otherwise, public people should expect public criticism, despite social media or public opinion leading some of the public to hiding their views out of fear of demonetizing, losing their social media account, or negative consequences at work. Who will speak to the harassment they endure?
It’s disheartening to confront this problem. Thank you for sticking to your mission.
Having read the comments it is difficult to know what to say that will not create ire. Perhaps I can observe that many of the comments posted here appear to be based on information coming from the media. At least one person specifically mentions a media outlet and singles it out for criticism. I am not a fan of the media. I am not a fan of the left wing media. I am not a fan of the right wing media. I am not a fan of the center media (though they are the best of the lot). I am not a fan of the media. The media distorts. The media distorts in order to keep us coming back for more. It distorts by intentionally producing stories that activate our sympathetic nervous system so that we feel threatened. We feel threatened and so we keep coming back to find release, but there is no release. There are only more stories that keep us engaged. When one story has run it course, they find a new one that keeps us in fight-or-flight. This is how they make money. We are the fuel of their economic engine. I have cut out 98% of the media from my life (I read the BBC website). I am much happier! I have stopped blaming people. I am no longer fearful. I hope that you can have a similar experience.
Thank you for continuing to speak truth to ignorance--willful or otherwise.