WHO findings on asymptomatic spread censored

The regimen of strict lockdowns is quickly fading in the United States, but some folks say that even when these orders were at full strength, you could still freely browse the Internet and devour all the information you dared.

Well, that's gone too.

On Monday, when the WHO reported its findings that asymptomatic spread of coronavirus was very rare, I posted a link to the CNBC article on my Facebook timeline. If it was some fringe group instead of the WHO, I wouldn't have trusted it. But it was the WHO, and the findings included the relevant science. I don't blindly trust any agency, and I trust news outlets far less. But when they provide credible proof - as the WHO did - it's as good as any other data.

I operate on facts and science. The WHO said its findings should lead to more focus on symptomatic patients. Those are facts, so I report on them. Period. Am I supposed to ignore science and make up stuff to fit a narrative? If reporting facts leads to fewer lockdowns and more lenient rules on individual behavior, that's life. The only people who would go to any length to argue against this data are people who actually want lockdowns to be ramped up.

So Facebook did exactly that.

This morning, I found that Facebook had flagged the link to this story as "partly false" - all because it didn't support lockdowns.

You read that right. Facebook is arguing with the WHO about coronavirus. And the article they flagged was from CNBC! The rest of the time, CNBC is doompanic central, so it's not like CNBC is out there trying to push loosened lockdowns. Yet Facebook actually flagged CNBC for not supporting lockdowns enough!

Who knows more about public health - the WHO, or some Facebook nerd who still lives in their parents' basement?

Of course, this is the same Facebook that won't flag the years-long litany of racist and classist posts by right-wingers.

The WHO didn't backtrack on Monday's findings. In fact, yesterday it reinforced them - as much as some in the elitist media wish it hadn't.

With Facebook flagging WHO reports, not only do we have months-long house arrests of whole states and countries, but censorship now too. So not only has the right to peaceably assemble been violated, but also the right to free speech.

This virus didn't disappear following months of lockdowns - despite what was promised. It won't just disappear today. There could be a vaccine just a few months from now - but there's no guarantee we'll ever have one. Viruses are out there. I've known this for a long time, and I've had to live with it. Are we supposed to stay locked at home forever if a vaccine never comes?

Our elected officials need to rein in Facebook's censorship.