It strikes us that there is this apocryphal idea in the minds of many that proven conspiracies have only happened in the dim and distant past. This is a very bizarre position to hold. What it supposes is that for centuries there has been clear evidence of deep state corruption within governments and secret government agencies, but somehow that just suddenly stopped a mere moment ago. Nowadays, the fairytale goes that mummy and daddy government in the civilised West would never do anything to harm its citizens. Ever.
Propaganda
Never in my wildest dreams…
…or never in my wildest nightmares? This was the opening phrase in a Twitter post from Dr Lisa Iannattone,on 15 June. The whole Tweet read, “Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted a future where a new virus would become the #1 infectious disease killer of children and that medical leadership would decide […]
The lie sandwich
The truth sandwich is promoted as a way of myth busting. The idea is that you state the truth, refer to a myth that you are trying to debunk — and why it is wrong — and then restate the truth. For example, this article used this method in an attempt to debunk the allegation that the Nuremberg code has been violated.
Dismissed!
There are plenty of examples in history of individuals who have been brilliant on one topic and controversial on another. Take Marie Curie; a ‘nerd’s nerd who broke the law for knowledge’. A veritable boundary rider, she went on to win 2 Nobel prizes for her scientific discoveries, but also enjoyed a good seance and slept with vials of Radium by her bed because it was ‘pretty’ (a habit that no doubt contributed to her eventual death from aplastic pernicious anaemia). We don’t however dismiss her entire body of scientific work because she dabbled in a bit of witchcraft or didn’t fully understand the dangers of radioactivity.
Brave Not-So-New World
We are pleased to note that Orwellian censorship antics promulgated by the UK Government – in cahoots with various civil service agencies, assorted contractors and pharmaceutical companies – has managed a few days in the mainstream limelight, even making the front page of the Daily Telegraph.
BMJ joins the ‘misinformation’ circus
The BMJ published an article on 5 May entitled ‘We need a gold standard for randomised control trials studying misinformation and vaccine hesitancy on social media’. This lends yet more weight to the thesis set out in our article relating current events to the Orwell 1984 classic. Here we have yet another example of Newspeak trying to eradicate dangerous Wrongthink, in one of the supposedly most ‘prestigious’ Science journals.
To Do List: Re-read George Orwell’s 1984 and take detailed notes
Using particular labels has become the unbeatable weapon du jour of online warfare. If you successfully brand someone a racist, a conspiracy theorist, an anti-vaxxer, alt-right or an antisemite (ideally several of these at once), you neutralise everything-they-ever-said-ever. Boom. Done. You’re finished. Next.
Unreasonably Spiked
There are times when it seems that nothing will ever be the same again. Many of us long to go back to normal life where we can work, play, pay our taxes and observe professional scribes and commentators vociferously debate the arguments du jour. But when it gets to the stage where even pachyderm enthusiasts are consistently ignoring gigantic herds of elephants stampeding around them, their active cognitive dissonance and Nelsonian ignorance is nothing short of enraging.
Blunted
Spiked has published a spiteful article by Fraser Myers that claims HART is “notorious for its anti-vax statements”. This follows a debate between him and Andrew Bridgen MP on GB News in which Bridgen brought along facts and Myers repeated the phrase “anti-vax conspiracy theory” numerous times.
In-fighting within the ‘freedom’ movement
We appear to be living through a blatant attack on what it means to be a sovereign human being. With our freedoms being eroded from all angles and the worrying shadow of a digital, programmable monetary system looming, we plebs must sharpen our focus.
The ‘nudgers’ deny responsibility for covid fear mongering
Alongside society’s increasing recognition of the pervasive harms caused by the unprecedented covid responses, those culpable for the disastrous policies seem to be struggling to accurately recall their contribution to the madness.
It Was A ‘Vaccine Strategy’ From The Start
The sceptical community – living up to its decentralised worldview – is not short of opinions and theories, robustly debated. These are too numerous to cover in detail in this short piece: it suffices to say that they cover a wide spectrum ranging from calamitous ineptitude (and innumeracy) of politicians and civil servants, deceitful and underhand sales…
A Review of Full Fact’s ‘Fact Check’ of Recent Statements by Andrew Bridgen MP
HART has previously noted deficiencies in mainstream “fact-checks” — after all, who watches the watchmen? And, perhaps more pertinently, who pays the watchmen?
Transmission Denied
How will we look back on 2022? For most but the most die-hard Zero Covid addicts (who had to wait until China punctured this illusion only a few weeks ago), victory was declared over Covid early in the piece when the government backed down from its obscene NHS injection mandate in February and ‘Plan B’ restrictions were also subsequently rescinded.
Public-Health Communications Strategy Endorsed in full… by Public-Health Communications Strategists
On December 1st, 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care released a document titled ‘Technical report on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK’. Including Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer) and Patrick Vallance (Chief Scientific Advisor) among its multiple authors, the report is specifically aimed at future medical, scientific and public health leaders, and is intended to relay what they have learnt from their experiences over the last three years.
On The Worship Of Sacred Cows
One of the extraordinary things about the past few years is the extent to which data which very obviously suggests one thing has been reinterpreted to suggest something else, merely to fit the “approved” narrative.
The crushing of dissent throughout the covid era
The recent actions of the financial technology company, PayPal, to close the accounts of subscribers expressing political opinions of which they disapprove, represents the latest example of censorship within so-called liberal democracies.
Rebuilding communication with family and friends
An understanding of Threshold Concepts Written by Val Fraser, Educational Advisor My field is essentially teaching and learning and particularly the field of learning theory, which means how we learn best and most efficiently. I largely adhere to the social constructivist model which means we learn in the company of others through collaborative dialogue. Sometimes […]
