Journalistic rules went out the window

by Keri Molloy

My close friend still calls me a conspiracy theorist.

We were on different sides of the fence during COVID. She took the mRNA vaccine and she’s fine. I did not get the jabs or boosters and I’m fine too.

Fortunately our friendship is stronger than personal conviction. We are still best friends and we tease each other about gullibility and brainwashing.

Where we agree is that there is no ‘Single Source of Truth’ (Jacinda Ardern) or ‘The Whole Truth (Stuff)’. What is more damaging than debate is lack of information and staunch intolerance.

During COVID it was difficult to establish what the real story was..

With some distance now and more data, it’s not surprising that soul searching is underway.

Perhaps journalists and politicians feel uncomfortable now, as developments raise the question of who, exactly, was spewing out misinformation.

Last week, in an interview, Stuff journalist Paddy Gower apologised for crossing a journalistic line.

“The media, being a very big power in society, did not treat people who were suspicious of the vaccine very well at all”, he said, admitting that he is still hated to this day for the part he played in driving the government’s vaccination campaign.

Paddy Gower and his team went undercover, targeting a doctor who believed the mRNA vaccine was a horrible medicine. She issued her patients medical certificates to help them avoid the jab, enabling them to keep their jobs. Jonie Girouard was labelled an anti-vaxxer and she was removed from the register at her own request.

People have not forgotten Paddy’s bluntness during the Super Saturday Vaxathon: “This is the fucking jab, just get it”.

Health Forum New Zealand founder Lynda Wharton says, “I think there has been a shift and some people like Paddy Gower are now putting their toes in the water as the narrative is changing.”

Lynda Wharton tells Paddy Gower and his colleagues that they still have a job to do.

Following his public apology, Lynda Warton wrote him an open letter, with an invitation:

“Be the one Paddy, who tells the other side of the story.”

She says she has more than 15,000 emails from New Zealanders, who suffered loss through Covid vaccine mandates and the inability to receive a medical exemption.

She comments that not one single platform of legacy media in New Zealand has told their stories: “They remain hidden, gaslighted, abused by friends, family, media, doctors, MPs and hospitals…I now have a community of almost 110,000 people from all around the world (on Facebook and X). Not a single one of them has any trust left in media and mainstream journalists, government, vaccination and doctors.”

But it’s not too late, she says.

“I could write a book, Paddy, about the world of pain that you have not made it your business, as a journalist, to investigate and report in a balanced, unprejudiced and courageous way. It’s not too late to tap into your empathy, and reach out to me for an interview. I have enough government, Pfizer, Medsafe, CDC, documents evidencing harm, to keep you reading for the next five years.”

Three days later, she has not yet been contacted by Paddy Gower or Stuff.

But things have indeed changed and the narrative is shifting.

Today thousands of doctors around the world are calling for the suspension of the mRNA vaccines and the spotlight is on significant financial interests tied to global health policies and corruption in the medical field.

New Zealand is one of only two countries that allows unrestricted pharmaceutical advertising directly to consumers.

Pfizer admits to a partnership with the government and academics. The company openly says: “Authentic collaborations with healthcare providers, patient communities and academia are fundamental partnerships to Pfizer New Zealand; helping to support patients through the provision of new medicines, vaccines, and education.”

The Hope Accord, supported by nearly 70,000 signatories, cites a growing body of evidence suggesting that the widespread rollout of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine products is contributing to an alarming rise in disability and excess deaths.

New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation has now paid out some $17 million to New Zealanders harmed by the Covid vaccines. Between 18 February 2021 and 20 January 2026, ACC received 4,495 claims for injuries relating to the COVID vaccination. 1,779 claims were accepted, 2,693 were declined and 23 are yet to be decided.

Paddy Gower could cover some human interest stories about any of them.

He could ask how Big Pharma captures medical regulators all over the world.

He could ask the Medical Council if they will apologise for hounding doctors who adhered to their Hippocratic Oath.

Paddy Gower could ask why it is still pursuing Murupara doctor Bernard Conlon, five long years later, in spite of new evidence that suggests the doctor was right to question government health policies at the time.

Paddy Gower could find out what strings are attached to a $23 million injection, by pharmaceutical companies, to TVNZ alone, over a five year period.

He could investigate if loyalty to the dollar persuaded legacy media not to carry human interest stories about the thousands of New Zealanders adversely affected by the Covid 19 jabs.

He could encourage Stuff to apologise for the gaping holes in its vaccination promises. Remember Stuff said – “Long-term side-effects of Covid vaccination are not a thing’. ‘We already know that the vaccines are safe…side effects are usually pretty mild…when you get a vaccine, it leaves your body within hours or days – you’re just left with the antibodies your immune system has created…it’s been a year and a half since people received their shots in the Pfizer clinical trials – none of them had side effects pop up later…the evidence tells us the vaccines are safe.”

Rebuilding trust, Stuff now says it subscribes to the principles of accurate journalism –

Assume nothing,
Believe no one,
Check everything.

“Our journalists don’t just hit publish. They dig. They question. They fact-check, re-check, and then check again… all so you get the full picture, not just the loudest voice online.

To rebuild trust, Stuff could own up.

Notes

Phase Two of the Royal Commission of Inquiry is reviewing key decisions made by the New Zealand Government regarding the COVID-19 response during 2021.

“An independent press plays a vital role in a democracy. The proper fulfilment of that role requires a fundamental responsibility to maintain high standards of accuracy, fairness and balance and public faith in those standards.” – NZ Media Council

“While many ordinary New Zealanders had genuine questions about vaccine mandates and government power, those concerns were routinely dismissed, ridiculed, or ignored ‘by a media establishment that had grown far too comfortable, acting as a megaphone for the government of the day” – Journalist Chris Lynch

”I never have, and never will, talk down to people who don’t take the vaccine. I am humble enough to know just how little I know; how wrong I have been -and will be- on many of my beliefs and ideas. I think dogmatic certainty and division is more destructive in the long term than any virus. The solution for me, personally, like I said, is to choose empathy and compassion towards all fellow human beings. No matter who they voted for. I hope you do the same. Read, think, and try to imagine that what you currently think is the truth may be totally wrong. This mindset is one that opens you to discovery, innovation, and wisdom.” – Lex Fridman 2022

For the Brave lyrics

“The truth is a weight that we carry alone,

A hunger for justice that’s carved in the bone.

While others are seeking a path on one side,

We face down the rising and thundering tide.

It’s not easy to run when the mountain is steep,

And bury the promises people should keep.

But you plant your heels in the sliding red clay,

And look at the terror and bid it to stay.” – For the Brave by Kelly Boesch

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