Some people may have already forgotten – but not so long ago billions of law-abiding citizens around the world basically got put under house arrest.
When they were able to go outside, they had to wear masks, and keep 6-feet “social” distance (known as “2-meter rule” in Europe).
Not to put too fine a point on it – but, it turns out the “science” behind this was pretty much arbitrary.
And, we learned this from none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The distancing rule was just one of the Covid-era restrictions explained and enforced as coming from “authoritative” medical sources and therefore based on science.
To make matters worse, the dystopian measures included employing mass surveillance technology, enlisting tech companies big and small to enforce the rules, and relentlessly censoring not only critics, but also merely people asking questions, all over the internet.
Anthony Fauci was the face, albeit very controversial even in the “pandemic heyday” of this “medical authoritativeness” in the US – and now, his Covid legacy has just gotten even worse.
Fauci this week appeared before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic; while the sessions were held behind closed doors, an official statement posted by the House Oversight Committee cited him as making some fairly shocking statements.
Evidently asked to explain “the origin” of the 6-feet rule, euphemistically referred to as a recommendation, Fauci said that it was “likely not based on any data.”
Maybe it was based on – common sense? Also unlikely, since Fauci went on to say the guidance “sort of just appeared.”
Out of thin air? So just like the supposed origin of the virus? That was another major narrative which, if challenged, got people branded as conspiracy theorists.
“He (Fauci) testified that the lab leak hypothesis – which was often suppressed – was, in fact, not a conspiracy theory,” Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup is quoted as saying.
Some of Fauci’s answers also saw this former high ranking federal official saying he “does not recall” the specifics of the very Covid policies he had been actively imposing on the population.
“Dr. Fauci’s transcribed interview revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority,” said Wenstrup, adding, “It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely. Should a future pandemic arise, America’s response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data.”
Astounding as all of this may be, it could prove to be a teachable moment, particularly in terms of citizens thinking twice before again allowing mass surveillance to spread under cover of fear mongering.
Related: Tech companies race to create social distancing surveillance tech to police the public
In 2020, in London and Manchester alone, thousands of AI (ML)-powered cameras were added “to monitor social distancing and lockdown restrictions.”
And when has good old Microsoft managed not to be on the wrong side of history? From a blog post, published that year:
“By using Azure Machine Learning designer, we were able to quickly release a valuable tool built on machine learning insights, that predicted occupancy in trains, promoting social distancing in the fight against Covid-19.”
More on that here.
