Conflict of interest: Two Pfizer directors have links to mainstream media, Big Tech
12/08/2021 / By Ramon Tomey
The National Pulse (NP) found that two members of Pfizer’s board of directors have links to mainstream media outlets and Big Tech companies. The conservative news website’s revelation cemented rumors of a collusion between Big Pharma and other entities regarding the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.
NP investigative reporter Natalie Winters wrote in a Dec. 6 article that Pfizer board member Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellmann served as Facebook’s lead independent director prior to her tenure with the vaccine maker. She was appointed to the social media platform’s board and sat in the directorship from June 2015 until October 2019. Hellmann joined the New York-based drug firm the following year.
Hellmann also serves as a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (CAST) under President Joe Biden. CAST is the advisory body assigned to make policy recommendations related to science, technology and innovation to the White House.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms, responded to Hellmann’s departure in an Oct. 30, 2019 press release. He described her as “a wonderful and thoughtful voice” on the board of directors, and expressed his gratefulness toward Hellmann’s contributions to the company.
The platform established by Zuckerberg has set it sights on censoring all content that promotes “vaccine hesitancy” – as revealed by Project Veritas. Two company insiders reached out to the whistle-blower website with leaked documents showing Facebook’s plan to block comments critical of COVID-19 vaccines via “comment demotion.”
One insider explained: “[Vaccine hesitancy comments don’t] match the narrative. The narrative being ‘Get the vaccine, the vaccine is good for you. Everyone should get it and if you don’t, you will be singled out.'” Another insider said: “[Facebook is] trying to control this content before it even makes it onto your page, before you even see it.”
Both Facebook insiders agree that regardless if the “vaccine hesitancy” comments are true and factual, they will be demoted, buried and concealed if they go against the system. (Related: Project Veritas blows lid on Facebook’s global censorship of “vaccine hesitancy”.)
Former Reuters CEO also sitting on Pfizer board
In a separate NP article, writer Kay Smythe revealed that the chairman and former CEO of news agency Reuters is also a director for Pfizer. James C. Smith sat as Reuters president and CEO from 2012 until his retirement in 2020. Two years into his tenure, Smith was appointed to the vaccine manufacturer’s board of directors in 2014, a position he still holds until now.
Alongside his stint in Pfizer, Smith concurrently chairs the London-based Thomson Reuters Foundation – which the news agency supports. He is also a board member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative. Furthermore, Smith serves as a member of three other groups under the entity founded by Klaus Schwab.
Former Pfizer Chairman and CEO Ian Read said of Smith’s appointment: “We are pleased to have Smith join Pfizer’s board of directors. He brings leadership and operational and international business experience to [the] board, and will be an excellent asset to the company.”
Read was at the helm of Pfizer from 2010 to 2019, before current CEO Albert Bourla took over.
Smythe wrote that the revelation about the Reuters official raises “serious conflict of interest concerns.” She added: “Corporate media outlets such as Reuters continue to promote Pfizer products, defend pharmaceutical companies from criticism and move to silent skeptics.” (Related: Conflict: Reuters chairman is Pfizer investor and board member.)
Smythe cited articles published in Reuters over the past year to bolster her claims. She found that in the last year alone, the agency has published more than 22,000 articles mentioning Pfizer. Published articles about Johnson & Johnson, many of which had a negative sentiment, numbered more than 18,000. Meanwhile, Massachusetts-based Moderna only had 8,191 articles churned out by Reuters.
BigPharmaNews.com has more articles about conflicts of interest surrounding Pfizer’s directors.
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Tagged Under:
biased, Big Pharma, Big Tech, censorship, conflict of interest, conspiracy, corruption, Facebook, James Smith, mainstream media, Pfizer, Reuters, Social media, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, Wuhan coronavirus
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