Hello Adriaan Basson,
Already the sixth edition this month of the Media=Virus publication. One of the best editions yet, if I must say so.
If you have not read the previous editions in detail (you did do that, didn’t you), I suggest you do so this time.
The editor of Business Insider SA should retract a certain report that was perhaps published in error, and reprimand the activist that wrote it. Sorry, I meant the journalist.
No sources for published figures were found within this article. It seems he’s also the associate editor of Business Insider SA. Incredible.
I’m no journalist or teacher, but that’s an F- from me.
The latest edition makes it pretty clear: what the world is going through is all a rather big mistake.
We have always lived with deadly diseases. We accept them. Yes, Covid is deadly to the relatively few who contracted it, but understand the big picture here.
All problems, economic recessions, population depressions and restrictions were caused by people’s decisions and not by a minuscule virus.
Don’t blame the virus; blame the governments, the chosen narcissistic experts and global organisations.
MSM played a big part in the diversion of blame. You know it. We know it.
Too many conspiracy theories are out there. Time to set the record straight.
Enjoy the weekend ahead.
Tim
This edition invoked a response:
Dear Mr Bouwers
Thank you, your attack on the media and Business Insider specific for reporting the facts about Covid-19 is to blame the messenger. I don’t think your arguments hold any water when the scientific facts are considered.
Kind regards
George
George Claasen
Public Editor/Ombudsman News24, The Witness & Media24 Community Press Lesersredakteur/Ombudsman News24, The Witness & Media24 se Gemeenskapspers South Africa/Suid-Afrika/Mzantsi Afrika/Iningizimu Afrika/Afrika Boroa/Aferika Borwa +27218513232 +27835432471
M=V replied:
Hello George,
Attack? Difference of opinion with supplied sources is not an attack. It’s debate. The world desperately needs it.
If the word “activist” is seen as attack, then perhaps publish more opinion from diverse sides to report more neutrally.
Nail on the head for your blame comment: A journalist should not just be a messenger. That’s where the problem lies!
So if my sources do not hold any water (including using sourcing from the WHO and other official publications), where are your sources to counter my arguments?
And please do not use some sort of pre-selected expert or a narrow statistic and narrative that does not show a more complete picture.
With Covid, you’re only mentioned as an expert if you toe the line. A line decided on by the WHO it seems.
Use real statistics in a neutral way to show people the entire picture. It should be part of your job.
Why would you not publish that currently only 56 people per 100,000 have died of Covid world-wide?
Why would you not publish that HIV currently has killed 8x more people in the world than of Covid?
Why would you not publish that HIV currently has killed over 45x more people in SA than Covid (or 16x more using your unofficial number)?
Break it down to monthly figures for direct comparison. Over 30 years, HIV has caused 10,000 deaths in SA per month (3,600,000 / 360 months).
https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet
https://www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2019/07/18/hiv-in-sa-seven-graphs-that-tell-the-story/
All things considered these are sourced facts, mr Claasen. It would also relief constant doom-and-gloom pressure off your readers that all is not lost.
I do understand that Covid is much easier to transmit, but your article brought it up.
BTW: thank you for replying. Much appreciated.
Tim
mr. Claasen (Editor, Business Insider) replied:
Hello Mr Bouwers,
Thanks for your mail.
I just want to say I don’t want to make light of the Covid-19 crisis. I’ve lost friends and many of my friends have lost a parent (both of them in some cases) to Covid.
From where I’m standing the Covid-19 pandemic is as huge a crisis as it is made out to be. And this is both at a global and personal level.
Saying all of this, as discussions around Covid-19 tends get people worked up, please read this mail in the non-confrontational manner. This is an honest attempt to make our case to you.
So coming to the points you make in your mail.
Firstly, you say you want me to “retract a certain report that was perhaps published in error.”
If there was an error in a report, I would be the first to correct it. The problem is you don’t spell out what exactly this error is. If there is mistake of some kind, I would really appreciate it if you could be specific about what you think it is.
Secondly, you play down the impact of Covid, arguing that HIV/Aids has killed more people.
This argument holds no water as you are not comparing apples with apples.
The one virus is easily transmittable through the air, the other can only contracted through an exchange of blood. The one has a relatively short incubation period, the other can hide in the body for months, if not years. The one can result in death in days, while the other can be treated like a chronic illness. Some people, for instance, have been HIV for 30 decades but through treatment have yet to get AIDS.
Thirdly, in comparing Covd-19 to HIV/Aids you also make the mistake of not compering the correct periods.
HIV/Aids has killed more people than Coivd-19, but that is because it was discovered in 1981 (though there cases dating back to the 1960s). In contrast, Coivd-19 was only discovered in 2019.
When looked at year-on-year, there were 680,000 deaths as result of Aids related illnesses in 2020. By comparison, there were and estimated to be 3,000,000 over the same period. The Covid-19 deaths also don’t include excess deaths. This is where people die from Covid-19 but did not test positive for it, or passed from another ailment because they could not get proper treatment as result of the pressure the Covid pandemic healthcare system.
As you can see from my response, we at Business Insider take our coverage of Coivd-19 very seriously. We have seen the impact of the pandemic up close and want our readers to be well informed on the issues so they can make the best choices regarding their health.
And yes, I understand you don’t want to – as you put it – read about ‘doom & gloom’ all the time. And I concur we do need some levity. It has been a difficult 18 months and the last few weeks have been particularly tough. So, with this in mind I suggest you read this lovey story on owls getting homes built for them on cell phone towers.
Once again thanks for you mail and enjoy your weekend.
Larry
M=V replied:
Dear mr. Larry Claasen,
Firstly, thank you for your mail, and thank you for your calm demeanour. We are all under pressure and your career would be no different.
Our main core inbound tourism businesses have been severely affected. At least South Africans are supporting us really well (albeit at huge discounts). We’ll make it. Bruised and battered yes, but we’ll get through this.
We just want to make sure you have actually read my latest edition. We have never sent them to your before, but perhaps Adriaan or George has forwarded it.
Most concerns in your mail would be answered by reading Friday’s edition. We highlighted discrepancies in detail by supplying numbers which, in my opinion, are more realistic. They differ wildly from yours.
All sources for my numbers are also mentioned. They do not come from selected obscure sites so that my numbers would “look real”. They come from the same sources you would use. Highly respected sites updated by scientific info.
It’s not us that compared HIV deaths with Covid, it was your article that did this. We understand that the comparison HIV to Covid is not completely suitable, but as said, the article itself compared HIV, TB, flu and diabetes figures to Covid deaths.
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/covid-19-deaths-in-south-africa-bigger-than-total-non-natural-deaths-2021-8
In previous editions M=V sent to Adriaan, we also raised concern that Covid is not reported annually but since the start. No other virus outbreak or disease has ever been reported in this way.
By compounding the numbers over a long period, a distorted picture is created by media that does not correspond to the real-world facts and figures. Cases from 18 months ago are not relevant to the situation as we find ourselves in today. It should divided into annual numbers to give your readers context and relevance. All other medical diseases, epidemics and pandemics are calculated annually.
We hope you worked it out: 56 people per 100,000 died with Covid world-wide according to front-line websites and scientific data – www.arcgis.com. Their figures are mirrored by the WHO.
We also doubted the result. It did not look right. But it is. Facts like this could change your reader’s pessimistic outlook and make them more aware of balanced truths. How would that not be the right thing to do?
Anyone with a calculator can do it: 7,800,000,000 total population/ 100,000 = 78,000. 4,400,000 world Covid deaths / 78,000 = 56.
Therefor, the doom-and-gloom picture created by MSM all over the world is, in our humble opinion, exaggerated. It’s done to cause panic and fear unrelated to present reality. This fear also greatly helps to impose endless restrictions by governments. The worse it looks, the easier people comply.
Lastly, your colleague stopped short a mere millimetre of labelling me a Covid denialist. No, I am not. Covid is real, Covid is everywhere and it can kill. It does kill. We have never denied this. I contracted Covid 7 weeks ago. I know this, since my smell and taste took over 4 weeks to return – Tim (M=V researcher).
Like you, we know of many people that have died with this disease. It’s a crisis indeed. Not to agree to that would be insane. The world has dealt with crises for as long as civilisation has been around, but never in a way we are doing it now.
The severity in the way it kills is where MSM and I differ. MSM is trying to drive their exaggerated message home continually. In the 30 or so editions of Media=Virus, we have never claimed that Covid does not exist or is fake.
We’re simply adding realism and “gezond verstand” along with the pandemic. This includes the unscientific implementation of lockdowns, the science behind wearing of face masks and the limited effectiveness of trail vaccines.
Vaccines in a nutshell: if you are of advanced age, have underlying illnesses and or are in poor health: please consider getting a vaccine. You will increase your chance of beating Covid. We are glad they exist.
Nowhere have we ever claimed anything false towards science. Therefor, rather call us Covid realists. At worst, can we agree to disagree? Nothing wrong with that. It’s called being an individual.
My best regards and hoping you understand my view on this.
Tim
George Claassen
Public Editor/Ombudsman News24, The Witness & Media24 Community Press Lesersredakteur/Ombudsman News24, The Witness & Media24 se Gemeenskapspers South Africa/Suid-Afrika/Mzantsi Afrika/Iningizimu Afrika/Afrika Boroa/Aferika Borwa +27218513232 +27835432471