Mises Wire

The Ongoing Covid Deceptions: How Ruling Elites Lied about Masks and Mask Mandates

The mishandling of the covid-19 pandemic by global elites has severely eroded confidence in expert opinion. New information is emerging that senior officials doubted policies that were foisted upon the American public. By sharing the results of his deposition with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt exposed Fauci’s advocacy of face masks as insincere:

Another tidbit from the Fauci depo: In Feb 20 he emailed a friend advising her that masks were ineffective. Confirmed again on Mar 31. On April 3 he’s adamant masks should be worn even though he couldn’t cite a single study to prove it. Mandates followed—Lives ruined.

Numerous studies disputed the efficacy of face masks, yet mask mandates rose to national prominence. During the apex of pandemic hysteria, the American Institute for Economic Research ran a series of scathing articles debunking the usefulness of face masks. In fact, one prominent 2020 study boldly admitted that mask use is primarily symbolic:

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes. . . . The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflective reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.

Not even children were spared from the covid-19 hysteria. Masks became commonplace in schools across America and the wider world, despite the large volume of research arguing that they could harm minors. One study from Germany noted that parents raised concerns about mask use having adverse effects on children. Moreover, evidence suggests that mask use limits the expressive capacity of children. Reading the facial expressions of teachers and peers aids a child’s language development, but unfortunately, masks were even required during intergroup conversations.

A recent paper published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications argues that mask use has hindered face recognition abilities in children. The researchers posited that impaired face recognition abilities have negative consequences for the emotional development of children, saying that “changes in face recognition performance and alteration in the processing of partially occluded faces could have significant effects on children’s social interactions with their peers and their ability to form relationships with educators.”

Widespread mask mandates failed to benefit children, and instead of averting covid-related deaths, they led to people dying. According to Dr. Zacharias Fogen of Germany, “Mask mandates actually caused about 1.5 times the number of deaths or [approximately 50 percent] more deaths compared to no mask mandates.” Dr. Fogen theorized that the re-inhalation of hyperconcentrated droplets caught by masks led to worse ailments and fueled fatality rates.

The scandal of covid-19 has demonstrated that elites deliberately misinformed the public at every corner. Citizens were scolded for ignoring mask mandates, even though the evidence was clear that they don’t work. The vilification of those who refused to endorse covid-19 vaccines was even more egregious.

Vaccines are usually successful, but covid-19 vaccines were imposed on the public without proper research. Contrary to the claims of politically motivated actors, the latest research on covid-19 vaccines is astoundingly negative. Scientific research shows that rates of myocarditis are higher among the vaccinated and that natural immunity offers great protection against the virus. Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that the highly touted lockdowns were a disaster. After the ruling elite’s orchestrated deception of the public, we would be foolish to trust their proposals.

The pandemic has rightly taught us that governing elites will fabricate evidence and misuse data to promote their agenda at our expense, and it is unlikely that they will ever be able to regain our trust.

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