I suppose the question in the headline is rhetorical. It’s been clear for a long time that for a vast swath of the media narrative trumps fact. This sorry story is just another example of that.
The national media picked up a story from KFOR in Oklahoma in which a single doctor was quoted as saying “The ERs are so backed up that gunshot victims were having hard times getting to facilities where they can get definitive care and be treated,” because of ivermectin overdoses.
Dr. Jason McElyea said “There’s a reason you have to have a doctor to get a prescription for this stuff, because it can be dangerous,”. He continued “All of their ambulances are stuck at the hospital waiting for a bed to open so they can take the patient in and they don’t have any, that’s it, If there’s no ambulance to take the call, there’s no ambulance to come to the call.”
Rolling Stone got the ball rolling nationally, but they weren’t the only ones to run with the story. other media outlets, including the New York Times (which linked to KFOR’s story), The Hill, Newsweek, The Guardian, and Insider all ran with it. Rachel Maddow pimped the story as well.
There’s only one problem, the entire story is a lie.
The “doctor” quoted in the story hasn’t worked for the hospital system in that area for months. The hospital hasn’t treated any ivermectin related patients, nevermind any overdoses. And most importantly, the hospital has not had to turn anyone away. The lies from this doctor were so egregious the hospital system changed their homepage, placing the statement front and center.
Unfortunately, the damage is done. The Rolling Stone article has an editorial note preceding the article that presents the hospital’s statement, but no other changes have been made to the article. The original KFOR story has no correction and is still up as originally published.
Is it too much to ask for some sort of reckoning for those responsible for this bit of journalistic malfeasance? Who publishes a story, any story, without reaching out to those involved?
Nevermind, I already know the answer. There will be no consequences for the writers. And the story fit with the author’s preconceived notions. In other words, it was too good not to be true.