When the "anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists" turn out to be right...
This fact-check by Libération [1] is typical of those we have seen springing up in the media in recent months. One piece of information is put forward – the fact that what they call "antivaxxers" are given a voice during parliamentary hearings... – in order to hide another: the one confirming that these hearings are bringing to light serious adverse effects that have not been reported, as well as the need for transparency in this hearing process.
Indeed, this fact-check muddies the waters so much that you have to read between the lines of the text to grasp the substance or the importance of the information in question. Here the article throws up a smokescreen by highlighting the "so-called antivaxxers" – read "those who warn about the side effects of the vaccine" – who have been heard by the French Senate for the past few weeks, which is said to be causing discontent on social networks... among those who believe that these people who warn against covid19 vaccination should absolutely not be given a voice or a platform.
Instead of the headline "l’audition de figures "antivax" par des parlementaires fait polémique", Libération could just as well have headlined that the closed-door nature of these hearings is causing controversy, or that the antivaxxers were right after all... Because if you read between the lines, you can still conclude at the end of the article that these Senate hearings are indeed not public (with no explanation other than a scheduling issue), and that it is this simple fact that, in the end, is most troubling in a process that claims to be transparent. The article also ultimately mentions that there are indeed many problems concerning pharmacovigilance, as well as certain side effects that are not properly reported or are under-reported, according to the chairman of the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST), which organises these hearings. In particular, it mentions the problem of disrupted menstrual cycles "in part of the population".
QED.
By Sandra Ferretti, columnist at BAM!
[1] https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/effets-secondaires-des-vaccins-anti-covid-laudition-de-figures-antivax-par-des-parlementaires-fait-polemique
Photo source:
Image resized from the original image by TimeTravelRome on flickr, CC BY 2.0
