april 19 2022
An opinion titled Evidence-based medicine has been corrupted by corporate interests, failed regulation, and commercialisation of academia (https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o702) was published in the British Medical Journal and perfectly describes the current scientific dilemma we are currently observing.
The authors correctly state that “the advent of evidence-based medicine was a paradigm shift intended to provide a solid scientific foundation for medicine. The validity of this new paradigm, however, depends on reliable data from clinical trials, most of which are conducted by the pharmaceutical industry and reported in the names of senior academics. The release into the public domain of previously confidential pharmaceutical industry documents has given the medical community valuable insight into the degree to which industry-sponsored clinical trials are misrepresented. Until this problem is corrected, evidence-based medicine will remain an illusion.”
However, the most crucial section of the publication is the following, as it deals with the cause of the problems science is facing.
“Ironically, industry-sponsored key opinion leaders appear to enjoy many of the advantages of academic freedom, supported as they are by their universities, the industry, and journal editors for expressing their views, even when those views are incongruent with the real evidence. While universities fail to correct misrepresentations of the science from such collaborations, critics of industry face rejections from journals, legal threats, and the potential destruction of their careers.”
I have witnessed this phenomenon for myself. I lost my job at the University for pointing out scientific fraud (https://www.goddeketal.com/how-scientific-fraud-took-the-world-hostage/) that key players such as Christian Drosten and Marion Koopmans committed. Critical papers that we submitted were hardly accepted, and, if so, processed very slowly. All my former university colleagues are disciples of the public narrative. Some of them even called me a science denier.
Academia has never been objective; however, the current trend is disturbing. Academic freedom is a core principle critical for the conduct of science and its progress. Unfortunately, it deteriorated into a dogmatic religion in which those who question the narrative are treated as heretics.
Every scientist should be allowed to question everything about Covid (i.e. measures, official data, vaccine efficacy, etc.), climate change, etc. The fact that the UN and powerful NGOs are currently determining the science course needs to be reversed immediately.
Cheers,
Dr. Simon
Rights and Freedoms 