Just out: Function creep in pandemic mode: the strange case of the Covid-19 certificates
Our new in-depth investigation is out
The Covid-19 era might be remembered as the most evidence-free public health story of our times. Because almost two years into it, governments keep implementing restrictive measures without providing solid background on their rationale, and it seems to have become normal to not communicate to the public which criteria will grant measures to be lifted. Pandemic journalism is not getting any better: media outlets copy and paste companies and governments’ press releases, and rely on experts’ opinions. A concerning tendency to silence critical voices is becoming rather systematic, and that’s countering the spirit of science, where advance often comes through the debate within a plurality of voices.
Just Out: «Function creep» in pandemic mode: the strange case of the Covid-19 certificates
A three parts series in collaboration with Dutch investigative journalist Jannes van Roermund.
We have been digging deeper on this new and yet pervasive tool supposed to play a role in controlling the epidemic, and on the agenda of the many and powerful that are profiting of the Covid-19 crisis.
First episode: what is “function creep” and why does it matter in the context of these brand-new passports? Bonus: a Re-Check exclusive, based on confidential leaked material, reveals that the Swiss government is not telling the whole truth about privacy and data storage of the COVID certificate.
Second episode: learn about some of the players that are working to let e-ID systems being implemented worldwide. And take an in-depth look with our map at the actors that gravitate around eight pro-e-ID and pro-Covid-19-certificates initiatives, as well as the interests that link them to these projects.
Third episode: learn about the advent of cryptocurrencies issued by central banks, also known as “central bank digital currency” (CBDC), and get to know what this has to do with e-ID and Covid-19 certificates.
On Follow The Money (in Dutch):
“Wetenschappers waarschuwen voor een nieuwe digitale identiteit” (Scientists warn of a new digital identity)
On Follow The Money (in English):
“Scientists caution against a new digital identity”
Summary: https://www.re-check.ch/wordpress/en/function-creep-covid-19-certificates-summary/
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Stuff media have ignored – and should have not
How the Pandemic Is Changing the Norms of Science. By John P.A. Ioannidis.
The pandemic led seemingly overnight to a scary new form of scientific universalism. Everyone did Covid-19 science or commented on it. In the media, and on social media, suddenly everyone has turned in an infectious diseases’ epidemiologist specializing at public health. The real experts? Often silenced, and censored. “There was a clash between two schools of thought, authoritarian public health versus science—and science lost.” A sobering, must-read essay..
Tabletmag, September 09, 2021.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/pandemic-science
Wissenschaftsleugnung – ein Kommentar aus Sicht der Evidenzbasierten Medizin. By Ingrid Mühlhauser.
A fantastic lecture in epistemology and Evidence-based medicine describes misconceptions and fallacies of pandemic science and journalism. Footnotes. Ärzteblatt Sachsen. September 2021.
https://www.ebm-netzwerk.de/de/medien/pdf/muehlhauser_wissenschaftsleugnung_saeb-0921_027.pdf
Top FDA vaccine officials to leave agency as decision on COVID-19 boosters looms. By Ben Fidler.
Marion Gruber and Phil Krause, two veteran vaccine safety specialists, unexpectedly left the US regulatory agency at a critical time. And shortly after, they co-signed a piece for The Lancet.
Biopharmadive. August 31, 2021.
https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/marion-gruber-phil-krause-leaving-fda/605859/
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