Sharyl Attkisson on Pharma's Media Protection and Corruption

The Flu Vaccine Study and Media Shift

• 💡 In 2006, Sharyl Attkisson reported on a study showing flu shots did not reduce deaths among the elderly, a finding NIH refused to discuss.
• ⚠️ A shift occurred around 2006 where pharmaceutical companies formed partnerships with media organizations, leading to increased pharmaceutical advertising and a clampdown on critical reporting.
• 💰 This partnership involved lobbyists from both pharma and media companies working together to influence Congress to loosen advertising rules, creating a financial incentive for media companies.

The Erosion of Trust in Medical Institutions

• 🔬 Attkisson's "accidental enlightenment" began with covering the smallpox vaccine program, revealing acknowledged side effects and deaths, including that of NBC reporter David Bloom.
• 💉 The oral polio vaccine, which carried a risk of causing polio, was given to millions of children without full disclosure of this risk, while the injectable version did not have this risk.
• 📰 Scientific journals, including JAMA and The Lancet, are heavily conflicted due to pharmaceutical funding, leading to dishonest and misleading studies that may not reflect true drug safety and efficacy.

Pharmaceutical Industry Influence and Tactics

• 💸 The FDA and CDC are significantly funded by the pharmaceutical industry (up to 70% for the FDA's drug safety division), creating a conflict of interest where the industry is treated as a client.
• 📈 Pharmaceutical companies often conduct their own studies and control their publication, hiding negative results and only releasing favorable data, a practice facilitated by onerous contract agreements.
• 🚫 Ghostwriting is a common tactic where pharmaceutical companies pay doctors to sign articles and studies, which are actually written by the company, without disclosing the financial relationship.

Controversial Topics and Media Censorship

• ⚠️ The link between antiperspirants (containing aluminum) and breast cancer has been studied, but the industry has consistently fought against FDA warnings, leaving consumers uninformed.
• 🎬 Robert De Niro's experience with the film "Vaxxed" at the Tribeca Film Festival illustrates how industry sponsors can influence the cancellation of content that questions vaccine safety.
• 🗣️ The "anti-vaxxer" label is a propaganda campaign invented to silence legitimate questions about vaccine safety and efficacy, particularly as more vaccine injury cases emerged.

The Impact of COVID-19 and Future Directions

• 🧠 COVID-19 opened many people's eyes to potential government and institutional deception, turning many into activists concerned about health and corruption.
• 📉 The chronic disease epidemic is largely ignored by public health experts who focus on expensive treatments rather than root causes, a problem exacerbated by the pharmaceutical industry's influence.
• 📢 Despite the challenges, there's a growing movement of doctors and journalists seeking to uncover the truth about health, disease causation, and corruption, with some positive outcomes emerging from the pandemic's revelations.