**Opinion piece, so my usual disclaimer: This is an opinion piece. When I venture away from facts, I want to point out this my opinion. An educated and informed one, but an opinion nonetheless.**
After this #pandemic, we probably need – and won’t have – a discussion as a civilised people. About misinformation. About free speech. About social media. About public health. About our role in protecting each other as humans in a modern society.
Whatever standard we would agree on: Doctors and other healthcare professionals need to be held to an even a higher standard and not be allowed to abuse their professional credentials to spread fear and misinformation for profit. This includes just pure ego-driven attention-seeking or profit-driven by improving ratings (ads!) , click-bait (ads!), or otherwise earning € from shock content or pseudoscience projects. And I won’t even mention populist politicians and influence here.
It’s easy to laugh at the sideshow created in the US by a Dr. Stella Immanuel last summer who believed in demon sperm but was promoted by Trump.
It becomes less funny when registered GP’s are sharing conspiracy theories and junk science that they must (I hope??) know is false.
In a time when people need more help to access information and understand the evolving science and public health guidance, one would wonder at the motivation of any doctor who publicly attacks and undermines it in a time of crisis. It certainly violates the spirit of the ethical code of “primum non nocere” (First Do No Harm).
One must ask serious questions: why doesn’t a registered doctor understand basic science? If they don’t understand, why don’t they reach out to a peer or pick up a book and get up to speed? And if they really believe conspiracy theory over their medical training….well, I have more questions. This isn’t whistleblowing. This is profiteering or unethical fear-mongering…or both.
Currently, the Irish Medical Council in Ireland has very little regulatory authority in this area. Much like in other countries.
Last month, the The New York Times explored this topic more eloquently than me.
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