Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that media like Fox News and Newsmax were putting people at risk with misinformation on the coronavirus vaccine.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “Do you think conservative media, like Fox News, are doing the same? Are they killing people, too, with rhetoric you just heard?”
Murthy said, “I think all of us, including the media, including individuals, health professionals, have a responsibility to share the truth about health as science dictates, as science informs us. And, you know, unless we do that unless we are honest about the consequences of our communication with people, unless we are rigorous about ensuring that what we communicate is actually sourced from science and not from an opinion on critical issues like the vaccine, then we are going to ultimately put people at risk.”
He added, “That is my great worry, Dana. People all across our country, and I hear from folks all the time who are struggling to make decisions about their health. After this very difficult year, we’ve been through, people deserve to have access to accurate information. They deserve to hear that from their leaders, from the media. They deserve to see that on platforms online.”
“They need that information to be able to make decisions to protect themselves and their families,” Murthy continued. “That’s the least we can do for them. And my worry is that all of this is misinformation that’s floating around. It’s having a real cost that can be measured and lives lost, and that is just tragic.”
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