The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association Want the Government to Censor Americans
The brief goes on to argue, at considerable length, that vaccines reduce mortality, the prevalence of severe illness, and the burden on the medical system. Covid-19 vaccines, specifically, are referred to repeatedly.
The brief then asserts that misinformation about vaccines meaningfully interferes with their lifesaving role. And that conspiracy theories that the vaccines contain microchips or that they can magnetize people, among other false claims on social media, lead to declining vaccination uptake by the public.
While the brief does not explicitly call for censorship, its argument can only be read through that lens. Deep into the document, after some 40 pages, begins its final section, titled: Combatting vaccine misinformation after its acceptance is not reliably effective and diverts resources from clinical care. (Italics added.) Seven pages are devoted to this claim, where it s noted that post hoc efforts to mitigate the harm from vaccine misinformation are less effective at preserving public health than reducing the spread of misinformation in the first place.
Outlandish claims about microchips and so on are easy to sneer at. But whether all of the above assertions are true or not is irrelevant. Though the medical organizations and the government s desire to save lives is noble, that goal does not empower the authorities to be the determiner of what is or is not misinformation, and to usurp citizens freedom of speech. This is for good reason.
David Zweig.