Of 'Rich Men North of Richmond' and Social Media Censors
Oliver Anthony has taken the world by storm, with his breakout song “Rich Men North of Richmond” surging to the global number one on Apple Music and leading the GOP primary debate, and a newly released song becoming an instant hit this week. His poignant critiques of Washington politicians taking our country in the wrong direction speaks to anyone who feels ignored by the powers-that-be.
Mainstream and social media have wasted no time attacking the song, painting Anthony’s perspective as divisive andeven “offensive” – a reliable dog whistle for censorship. Given his reliance on social media as an independent artist, there is a real concern that tech companies will start to put their finger on the scale to restrict his reach and stifle the message driving his growing popularity.
The Missouri v. Biden lawsuit, which is headed to the Supreme Court, is revealing the extent to which the Biden administration “strongarms” social media companies to limit the reach of opposing voices. As the head of physician-led non-profit organization promoting independent medical practice, this is a battle we have been fighting for nearly three years.
In December 2020, when the world was desperate to understand COVID-19 treatment options, I testified before a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about my experience treating patients with corticosteroids and ivermectin. The video quickly garnered over 8 million views on YouTube — then the company deleted it.
There is no accountability for this behavior, and no sign that it will change. YouTube’s newly released medical misinformation policy promises to prevent the spread of harmful health advice. In practice it will be another tool to censor its political enemies.
We should all be concerned about politically motivated restrictions on the marketplace of free ideas. It is impossible to advocate for the best medical policy and practice without using these platforms. Tech giants have honed and protected their algorithms and advertising methods to serve targeted content in unexplainable ways. They’ve created slick back-end user interfaces to make it easy for anyone to advertise content on their platforms. In doing so, these organizations have effectively created a monopoly on communication and fundraising for small, non-profits. Like many grassroots organizations, most of our income is from individual donations.
If you run afoul of these groups, you must find other ways to advertise, communicate and deliver messages. This entails recreating the administrative functions that Google and Facebook have perfected— well beyond the ability or means of most non-profits. If your message is very popular, the censorship spreads.
Mainstream newswire services have refused to distribute my organization’s press releases — even when we are trying to share peer-reviewed medical journal articles and firsthand clinical data that can help patients and inform medical policy. Our social media posts have been removed, and our accounts repeatedly suspended. PayPal has refused to process donations. Shopify wouldn’t let us sell branded clothing. Medium, LinkedIn, and Vimeo all shut down our channels. To survive, we – as a group of doctors – have been forced to build alternate platforms and parallel communication channels, chewing up precious resources that could be used treating patients.
Many organizations do not have the ability to navigate institutional censorship. Who knows what untold and life-changing ideas or knowledge has been bottled up and never given the chance. For those selling widgets, it’s a financial loss. For those promoting medical advice that could ease suffering and prevent future health emergencies, it’s a tragedy.
These pernicious practices subvert the independent exchange of ideas that has defined medical practice for a thousand years. Physicians apply the scientific method, test different approaches to heal patients, build on what works and ignore what doesn’t. Even when scientific insights are widely upheld, challenging of established beliefs has led to innumerable scientific advances throughout history. By preventing the free exchange of ideas among physician-led advocacy groups sharing firsthand treatment experience, censorship is destroying the potential for medical innovation.
The House Judiciary Committee deserves credit for challenging social media companies’ tactics, especially reports of collusion between the Biden White House around COVID vaccine “misinformation.” There is legislation pending and legal cases that could help stop these arbitrary censorship policies. But it’s hard to see how any of this will stop without new leadership in Washington.
Pierre Kory, M.D., is president and chief medical officer of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.
