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Washington Examiner
Restoring America
20 Jun 2023


NextImg:In a debate between RFK Jr. and Dr. Peter Hotez, there’s only one loser: Science

Another “debate me, bro” saga has erupted online, this time involving some of the biggest names in the world of social media: podcast host Joe Rogan, Twitter CEO Elon Musk, pro- vaccine advocate Dr. Peter Hotez, and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, has found himself at the center of this particular situation after criticizing what he described as “vaccine misinformation” provided during Kennedy Jr.’s recent appearance on Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

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Things escalated quickly, with Rogan offering to donate $100,000 to a charity of Hotez’s choosing if he agreed to debate Kennedy on his podcast. Amid insults, deleted tweets, and billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Cuban entering the chat, Hotez essentially said no, instead saying that he would be “happy to come on and have a meaningful discussion” focusing on the consequences of “vaccine disinformation.”

This, in turn, sparked the usual binary response of celebration or derision, with many declaring that Hotez’s refusal meant that Kennedy Jr. wins by default. But instead, we must ask: What is the real purpose of debate here?

If the objective is to fuel further the traffic Kennedy is driving, particularly in this news cycle, then providing him with as much screen time as possible is obviously a solid, and profitable, strategy. But if the objective is to uncover the truth, then a “debate” between Hotez and Kennedy Jr. would be a disastrous spectacle with no winners and one loser: science itself.

Let’s start with Hotez, a propagandist for the definitionally anti-scientific nature of COVID-19 policy, during which science was sacrificed for virtue-signaling. Hotez played his part, helping to enable the authoritarian monsters who used COVID-19 as an excuse to imprison millions in their homes, force them to close down their businesses, and strong-arm low-risk citizens into getting a never-ending stream of injections of… questionable efficacy.

Hotez was nothing but a tool of this strategy. Not only is it naive to expect him to act as an objective and nuanced proponent of the pro-vaccine position, but it’s foolish to expect him to admit fault on the biggest podcast on the planet.

Next, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The man is a conspiracy theorist who has been a vocal critic of numerous vaccines for years prior to COVID-19, including promoting the debunked claim that vaccines are responsible for an autism “ epidemic .” Now, much like a stopped clock, Kennedy is sometimes correct in his criticism of the COVID-19 vaccine and related policies. But so are countless comparatively unknown figures who make their arguments without pushing unsupported claims or outright lies, and without the constant protection of the irrefutability of conspiracy theorists enjoyed by Kennedy.

After authoritarian monsters abused "the science" to force an arguably ineffective vaccine on the population, it is crucial that we address this generational failure. It’s also crucial that debate remains a central component of scientific progress, supported by objective and good-faith participants who are both working in pursuit of truth alone.

But by handing this conversation over to Hotez, a propagandist for the Left, and Kennedy, a propagandist for the broad anti-vaccine movement, actual science will return to the gutter.

Debate is good and has, without a doubt, been intentionally stifled by America’s pseudointellectual elite. But if truth is the goal, rather than the spectacle of debate, then it also matters who becomes the face of that conversation.

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Ian Haworth ( @ighaworth ) is the host of Off Limits with Ian Haworth . You can also find him on Substack .