NIH Official to Retire After Being Outed as Blogger Mocking Science and Fauci

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
31,493
9,824
136
Figured this deserved a separate thread from Covid-45. Turns out being a blogger actively worked against your agency's mission of public health is not a good idea.


New York (CNN Business)A public affairs official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will "retire" after a news report identified him as the anonymous author of blog posts on a conservative website that disparaged Dr. Anthony Fauci and mocked the use of masks, a spokesperson for the health agency said Monday.
The Daily Beast reported Monday that William Crews, who worked in NIAID's communications branch, is a managing editor working under a pseudonym for the right-wing opinion website RedState who had mocked Fauci as a "mask Nazi" and described wearing face coverings as "a political statement."
"NIAID first learned of this matter this morning, and Mr. Crews has informed us of his intention to retire," a NIAID spokesperson told CNN. "We have no further comments on this as it is a personnel matter."

that deep state at it again 🙄🙄
 
  • Wow
Reactions: hal2kilo

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,734
18,004
146
The Daily Beast's Lachlan Markay, who broke the story for the news website, said he was able to identify Crews as the RedState editor through public records, social media postings and, internal NIH records.
"It illustrates the extent to which the response to the pandemic has become deeply politicized, even within the agencies at the front lines of fighting it," Markay wrote. "Crews isn't just a civil servant anonymously disagreeing with his bosses online; he's actively undermining their work and even suggesting retribution against them."

Sums it up well, classic projection from conservatives for the pandemic.
 

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,786
6,188
126
Do you guys remember when America was still a great country, even with all its flaws? Those were the days. Or maybe I was just young and stupid, in the words of George Carlin, it's called American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hal2kilo

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,188
14,090
136
Thread title is problematic. He didn't have to retire for having a "right wing blog." He had to retire because in said blog he mocked the science of infectious disease and tried to undermine his own agencies efforts to promote public health during this crisis.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,974
7,891
136
So he worked in the 'communications branch' (I guess he was 'communicating'!).

Out of interest, is he someone with serious medical qualifications, or just an IT or PR dweeb? He needs to go either way, but an actual medical expert being a 'maverick' and disagreeing with the mainstream would seem like a slightly-different situation to some non-specialist employee expressing entirely political views against his own employer.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
31,493
9,824
136
Thread title is problematic. He didn't have to retire for having a "right wing blog." He had to retire because in said blog he mocked the science of infectious disease and tried to undermine his own agencies efforts to promote public health during this crisis.

Will edit. Wasn't sure if I'd run up against the title length 😛
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,188
14,090
136
Will edit. Wasn't sure if I'd run up against the title length 😛

Yeah, I could see that was probably the case. I wasn't meaning to pick nits, but I thought the title played into conservative paranoia about being persecuted just for having opinions on the right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fenixgoon