With President Biden failing to “shut down” COVID-19, the public rejecting their lockdown forever pipedream, and the midterm election coming up, the liberal media have begun to transition their messaging to make people think they’re on their side. Hence Sunday’s Trustworthy Sources where CNN media apologist Brian Stelter was decrying “doomsday doctors” in the media for spreading “panic porn.”
Stelter started his B-block talking about “the media and mental health” in that “91 percent Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans agree that there is a mental health crisis in the United States” because of “The absurdity of COVID.”
After commending “many doctors” for “doing an amazing juggling act,” he worried about what “Potentially, we are also hearing or seeing from doomsday doctor who urge people towards more anxiety, fear and depression..”
“It is evident that this issue is complex. However, is fear spreading, in particular in Twitter threads on Facebook and other corners of cable TV, where it seems like COVID zero may be the only objective?” he added. “COVID zero, of course, the idea that you can completely eliminate COVID from the environment, which is an impossibility.”
And although he suggested he’s “I am not calling out anyone specifically,” we all know the doctors he’s talking about, doctors like Peter Hotez, Vin Gupta, and Leana Wen to name a few.
His first guest was practicing internist and health care educator Dr. Lucy McBride who he asked to take on the “doomsday doctors.” McBride took the doctors to task for preying on and over energizing peoples’ anxieties.
“Fear does harm. They only make people fearful. It doesn’t affect people’s decisions,” she said. “So, when I’m on Twitter or right now with you, I’m trying to help people understand that, look, your risk for COVID is as different as someone else’s. And revving the emotional engines of people’s anxiety only does harm.”
For the follow-up question, Stelter wanted her to share the examples of “Panic porn” she’s witnessed from other doctors (Click “expand”):
STELTER – What is a good example of panic, fear or porn you have seen lately?
MCBRIDE: Well, there are a lot of doctors who are talking about, you know, “what if your child ends up in the IC, and then you die and from the same COVID infection, and then you’re parentless?” That’s just, in my opinion, not helpful.
(…)
Doctors and public health officers should not ignore their fears or anxieties. They need to take time to think about how their messages are being received and what harm they could do by spreading fear-based messaging. Doctors are also people. There is a mental health crisis that healthcare providers are experiencing as well.
Up next of was Stelter’s lackey Oliver Darcy to criticize the media for being stuck in their own bubble:
Stelter went on to say the CDC had become a literal “punchline” because they were experiencing a “huge credibility crisis.” To which, Darcy noted that no one was following the truly ludicrous suggestions for holiday gatherings, thus “we need to be maybe coming up with realistic solutions and advice to the general public when talking about COVID.”
The liberal media used to try to kick you out of society for questioning or criticizing anyone working in medicine. They have an election in the midterms to win.
These lucrative sponsorships made it possible to make this sudden but still predictive narrative shift. Procter & Gamble Safelite. You can find their contact information here.
CNN’s Trustworthy Sources
February 9, 2022
Eastern 11:14.51
BRIAN STELTER (All right. Let’s now turn to mental health and the media. Suffolk University pollsters have discovered something that is universal across all political lines in America. That something is called mental health stress.
A mental health crisis exists in America according to 91 percent Democrats, and 80 percent Republicans. Researcher David Paleologos says this new poll, quote, “tells a story of despair felt by Americans who just don’t know when the madness of COVID will end.” The madness of COVID.
There is a small segment of Americans that listened to the warnings about the pandemic. They threw away the masks and moved on, in spite of repeated requests from public health authorities. Omicron has put some of these people at risk.
The other group of Americans I am focusing on is the vaccinated. These people are more aware about the pandemic, are listening to Omicron news, are concerned about school closures and test troubles, as well as the closing of schools. The current pandemic situation is complicated, as a milder variant continues to bring hospitals close to capacity. Many people don’t know what to do or believe.
Many doctors do a remarkable job in this situation. However, it is possible that we are also hearing or seeing doctors pushing people towards more anxiety, fear and depression.
This is not an attempt to make any particular person feel bad. It is evident that this issue is complex. Is there undue fear spreading, particularly in the Facebook threads and corners of cable TV that make it seem like COVID Zero is the only goal?
COVID zero is, obviously, the belief that it’s possible to completely eradicate COVID from your environment.
The next guest I have is an internist who practices in Washington. This woman has been scrutinizing medical professionals who might be fear-mongering. She’s Dr. Lucy McBride, and is now with me.
You can also find Oliver Darcy from CNN here.
We are grateful for your presence.
Doomsday Doctors is an incendiary term. I’m careful, Dr. McBride. However, I would like to see what you are seeing. When you treat patients they call and inquire about COVID. How are you feeling? Which are you seeing?
DR. LUCY MCBRIDE : This is a parallel crisis in mental health, Brian. It is a time of fear and panic. COVID-19 is a real threat and people have panicked and been concerned.
However, medical professionals, in particular those that are patient-facing and who work with people daily, can help them to understand their vulnerabilities for COVID or cancer. Our duty is to provide fact-based, nuanced information to assist people in assessing risk. Fear does harm. They only make people fearful. It does not affect the decision making process.
So when I’m online with you or on Twitter right now, my goal is to educate people about the fact that COVID risks are different for everyone. And revving people’s anxiety emotional engines only makes it worse.
STELTER – What is a good example of panic, fear or porn you have seen lately?
MCBRIDE: Well, there are a lot of doctors who are talking about, you know, “what if your child ends up in the IC, and then you die and from the same COVID infection and then you’re parentless?” That’s just, in my opinion, not helpful.
Let me be clear: I do not attribute ill intention to these doctors. Most doctors went into medicine in order to assist patients. It seems that many doctors are also anxious and trying to reduce their anxiety through broadcasting the anxieties to the wider population.
If doctors and other public health professionals don’t take the time to examine their anxieties and fears, and reflect upon how they communicate and what they might be doing wrong by sharing fear-based messages, we should really take a rest. Doctors are also people. There is a mental health crisis among providers of healthcare.
It’s human nature to be anxious and to desire to share the stress we feel with others. It can affect people’s daily behaviors, their feelings and even their decision making. Fear doesn’t motivate. Fear just makes people afraid.
To motivate people to get the vaccine I suggest they lose weight to lower their risk of COVID. However, this doesn’t mean that you will die if your weight isn’t lost. They can learn from me, and I will give them tools so they can use that information to make informed decisions about their risk.
STELTER: Right.
Oliver, this is what you have been sharing in your Reliable Sources newsletter. This is a very broad question. Are the media out of touch about COVID at the moment?
OLIVER DARCY: I think it’s hard to argue that — you know, the media is a large group of people, but a lot of the media does seem – when I look at it and travel the country – to be very out of touch with people. You can see that people don’t live in the same bubble as the media portrays.
STELTER: Right.
DARCY: So, this — I believe that is an issue. If we don’t communicate to the general public, people will ignore everything. They’ll just live their lives and not get the information they require.
STELTER: This is a wonderful example of how I can cover that moment in time. Here is the Today show. Savannah Guthrie is interviewing the CDC chief. Savannah shows a great deal of empathy for the people who have seen the CDC become a laughing stock. This is so tragic, but true. The CDC has become a laughing stock.
Watch.
[Cuts to video]
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE The CDC says that Tide Pods can be eaten. According to the CDC, you can go ahead with bangs.
People letting loose of steam is amusing. Is there an even bigger credibility issue with your agency?
[Cuts back to live]
STELTER. And yes, the CDC is in serious trouble of its credibility. Oliver: To your point, people just get distracted by all the confusing messages.
DARCY : You are absolutely correct. DARCY: I’m sure we should be providing information to those people.
So, when we communicate with a small number of people who may be taking the pandemic more seriously than average, then I feel we are not effectively doing our job. We need to spread the message.
There are many stories, like this one, that advise people to be careful ahead of holidays and Thanksgiving. While it is not a bad idea to be cautious, it felt strange to me that people were not following the steps in these articles.
We need to think of realistic ways to help the public with COVID.
STELTER: Get to know your viewers and readers, as well as their views. People are all over the place when it comes time for risk assessment.
Please take a minute, Dr. McBride. Learning to live with COVID is a reality. We need to be able to see the living.
MCBRIDE – We need to be able to deal with COVID. This is different from saying “let it rip” and not protecting the vulnerable. It is essential that we do all we can to help the vulnerable. Brian, remember that vulnerability can mean many things. It can include depression, isolation and vulnerability to COVID-19.
STELTER: Right. Absolutely.
MCBRIDE – We must communicate clearly and be open to all.
STELTER: Dr. McBride. Thank you. Oliver, stay with us.
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