Dr. Fauci Friend or Foe?

President Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci
President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci









                          

Trending yet again on Twitter, opinions about director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President, Dr. Fauci, are very much divided. In the time of Coronavirus both in 2020 and 2021 have shown just how political medicine and science are. What is the difference in opinion among prominent Democrats and Republicans on Twitter, and what does the coverage of Fauci in the media prove? 

My observations when looking at how Republicans and Democrats talk about Dr. Fauci can be summed up with: criticisms vs. reporting. In several instances from those on the right, it is clear that they are very critical of Fauci, insinuating that his decisions so far have been very political, and oftentimes, are just wrong. A few examples of this can be seen with the famous interactions Dr.Fauci has with members of Congress- Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). Rand Paul tweeting, "
For government officials hell bent on vaccine coercion for all - Fauci primarily - which is more important: truth or submission? Natural immunity to covid is powerful. Policymakers seem afraid to say so." Jim Jordan tweeting, "Who elected Fauci...?" after a series of tweets questioning and criticizing masks and vaccines. Democrats have not been tweeting and commentating too much about Fauci specifically, almost distancing themselves from him, in favor of taking about the virus, vaccines, and masks' effects on the country as a whole. When looking at Twitter under the trending "Dr. Fauci", largely, it consists of Republican news pundits and congresspeople and news outlets reporting and criticizing Fauci's new ruling that it is too soon to tell whether family and friend gatherings should happen during the winter holidays.

What this messaging on Twitter demonstrates is the confusing messaging as to what the facts are, and who the public should place their trust in regarding public health decisions during COVID. The media covers purely what Dr. Fauci says, sometimes in full clips and others with selective clips. Leaving outlet's pundits to later make commentary reflective of their political leanings. Examples of this can be seen from conservative hosts on Fox News like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity. From Congresspeople to outlet news sources, Twitter has been a platform time and time again for people to criticize Fauci and his decisions regardless of his medical or political history. Particularly in times of high covid infections and hospitalizations, it is easy to point the finger at Fauci and demand better results or solutions adhering to more Democrat or Republican likening. Everyday Americans are left to suffer and quite literally die from the lack of clarity and consensus on what is real or "fake news".

Comments

  1. Ambria BurtonOctober 3, 2021 at 6:36 PM

    This was an outstanding article! I definitely would have never imagined that the field of medicine was so political until I witnessed it myself throughout the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, sometimes I had wished that the opinions these politicians and news personalities had on their view on the pandemic were minimal so I could know what was being advised by medical professionals. It got exhausting to hear what people had to think about the pandemic all the time when in reality I just wanted to know the facts.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rittenhouse Trial by Media

Image
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2021%2F11%2F16%2F1056131258%2Fkyle-rittenhouse-trial-jury-deliberation-verdict-kenosha&psig=AOvVaw0h97IkwhGuyy3iXaya38lf&ust=1637249874644000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCIC2uKjdn_QCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAF   The Wisconsin Kyle Rittenhouse trial has seen a lot of media coverage, politicization, and criticism over the last several weeks. Being documented live on television across multiple outlets, this case has certainly attracted the attention of many. Media outlets from NBC, NPR, Reuters, and BBC, to NewsMax and Fox News, many editorials and news hosts have laid out their opinions and facts about the trial concerning the now-18 year old Kyle Rittenhouse shooting in Kenosha, WI, which left two people killed.   Media outlets like NBC, NPR and BBC have been quick to point out critiques of unfairness and possible bias in the case for both political and unpolitical reasons. They...
Read more

What is the focus?

Image
 What is the focus of prominent politicians on Twitter in this week of September 5th?  With Labor Day Weekend, wildfires and recall election in California, Texas abortion laws, rapidly rising COVID cases, aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the crisis in Afghanistan, and the upcoming 20th year anniversary of 9/11 , where are we? There are so many pressing domestic and international problems going on, it makes it difficult to even log into Twitter. What is clear is the stark difference in coverage from both the left and right.  Seen on my Twitter page ( @EllisonRemy ), following prominent activists, journalists, and politicians on the left and right its easy to begin making general groupings of where focuses lie between the two parties. When looking at prominent Twitter pages associated with the Democrats you see messages focused on climate change , reversing the abortion law in Texas , and the recall election in California. What is interesting to note about these examples and ma...
Read more

Double Standard? Just Jokes?

Image
                                        On both his personal and Congressional Twitter accounts, Representative Paul Gosar is in hot water after posting a video which shows an anime-style clip featuring Gosar violently attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and then President Biden. Blacklash for posting and also his happiness with the video surfaced just minutes after it was posted. Many retweets posting in response from other members of Congress and prominent politicians: Rep Ted Lieu (D. CA), Rep Adam Schiff (D. CA), Speaker Pelosi, former congressman Joe Walsh (R) and A.O.C herself.  Representatives from California Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff were quick to to mention the double standard noting respectively:      So, many raise the question of how deep the problem goes? What punishment, if any, should be made on Rep Gosar? Is there a double standard in...
Read more