{"id":2415316,"date":"2025-03-25T21:40:38","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T01:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bhattacharya-just-confirmed-as-nih-director-once-banned-from-twitter-over-covid-truth-telling\/"},"modified":"2025-03-25T21:45:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T01:45:42","slug":"bhattacharya-just-confirmed-as-nih-director-once-banned-from-twitter-over-covid-truth-telling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bhattacharya-just-confirmed-as-nih-director-once-banned-from-twitter-over-covid-truth-telling\/","title":{"rendered":"Bhattacharya Just Confirmed as NIH Director &#8211; Once Banned From Twitter Over COVID Truth-Telling"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbhattacharya-just-confirmed-as-nih-director-once-banned-from-twitter-over-covid-truth-telling%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2415316&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has been confirmed as the new director of the National Institutes of health (NIH) with a Senate vote of 54-46. This confirmation follows years during which Bhattacharya faced censorship for his controversial views on COVID-19 policies, including his stance as a primary author of the Great Barrington Declaration, which advocated for allowing herd immunity to emerge among younger and lower-risk groups while protecting higher-risk individuals. His predecessor, Francis Collins, had previously called for discrediting the declaration. during his confirmation hearings, Bhattacharya emphasized the importance of fostering dissent and debate within the NIH, stating that \u201cdissent is the very essence of science.\u201d He also acknowledged the erosion of public trust in the NIH due to its COVID response and expressed commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maha-goes-to-congress-how-rfk-jr-and-his-allies-hope-to-tackle-chronic-disease-epidemic-with-trump-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"MAHA goes to Congress: How RFK Jr. and his allies hope to tackle chronic disease epidemic with Trump - Washington Examiner\">addressing chronic health issues<\/a> in the nation in collaboration with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Jay Bhattacharya was confirmed to become the next director of the National Institutes of Health, a development that comes years after he was targeted for censorship over his dissent from the mainstream response to COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Bhattacharya was confirmed Tuesday by the Senate, with an unofficial tally captured by the White House Rapid Response account on X showing a 54-46 vote. <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5213872-jay-bhattacharya-senate-confirmed-nih\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hill<\/a> reported a 53-47 party-line tally.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#9989; CONFIRMED: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the NIH. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DEBbpJQ0lU\">pic.twitter.com\/DEBbpJQ0lU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/1904667022333468863?\">March 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>  The Hill noted that Bhattacharya, who works as a professor of economics and health research policy at Stanford University, was a primary author of the Great Barrington Declaration, which questioned institutionalized COVID policies like masking and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">social distancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The document contended that &ldquo;herd immunity&rdquo; should be allowed to take place among the lower-risk and younger portion of the population.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING); 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\t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>It also argued that protection should be focused on higher-risk and older people.<\/p>\n<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nih-confirms-funded-wuhan-gain-function-research-now-fauci-spend-5-years-jail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NIH<\/a> Director Francis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/testimony-top-public-health-official-covid-made-public-undermines-everything-fauci-said\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Collins<\/a>, Bhattacharya&rsquo;s predecessor in the senior public health position, had called for a &ldquo;quick and devastating published take down&rdquo; of the Great Barrington Declaration in an  dated Oct. 8, 2020.<\/p>\n<p>He noted in the , which was sent to Dr. Anthony <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-faucis-former-nih-boss-finally-admits-covid-lockdown-another-mistake-made\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fauci<\/a> and other senior federal health officials, that the proposal from &ldquo;three fringe epidemiologists&rdquo; was getting &ldquo;a lot of attention.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">How it started: Disgraced NIH Director Francis Collins demands a &ldquo;devastating takedown&rdquo; of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrJBhattacharya?\">@DrJBhattacharya<\/a>&lsquo;s Great Barrington Declaration that called for covid lockdowns to end.<\/p>\n<p>How it&rsquo;s going: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is officially on his way to his old office. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UlcbGG6P4W\">pic.twitter.com\/UlcbGG6P4W<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greg_price11\/status\/1904670489110257915?\">March 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>  Bhattacharya emphasized to lawmakers during his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-longest-serving-cabinet-member-confirmed-to-bidens-cabinet\/\" title=\"Obama\u2019s Longest-Serving Cabinet Member ... To Biden\u2019s Cabinet\">confirmation hearing earlier<\/a> this month that he would foster disagreement and debate in his job.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Dissent is the very essence of science,&rdquo; he said, according to The Hill. &ldquo;I will foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists &mdash; including early career scientists &mdash; can express disagreement respectfully.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bhattacharya was also censored and shadow-banned by the previous management of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/elon-musk-quietly-invites-blacklisted-professor-twitter-hq-next-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> after he joined the platform in 2021, as revealed by internal documents released in 2023 after Elon Musk bought the platform, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-twitter-blacklisting-of-jay-bhattacharya-medical-expert-covid-lockdown-stanford-doctor-shadow-banned-censorship-11670621083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> from The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n<p>His account had the label of &ldquo;Trends Blacklist,&rdquo; meaning his tweets could not rise to become trending topics on the platform, the report said.<\/p>\n<p>The censorship occurred as Biden administration officials pressured social media companies to quell purported disinformation about COVID and the government response to the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Bhattacharya also expressed concern during his confirmation hearing that the NIH lost substantial institutional trust among the public for its COVID response.<\/p>\n<p>He also committed to helping Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. address chronic illnesses and other <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">health issues facing<\/a> the country.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If confirmed, I will carry out President Trump and Secretary Kennedy&rsquo;s agenda of Making America Healthy Again and committing the NIH to address the dire chronic health needs of the country with gold-standard science and innovation,&rdquo; Bhattacharya said, according to The Hill.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has been confirmed as the new director of the National Institutes of Health, a significant development following years of censorship due to his opposition to mainstream COVID-19 policies. The Senate confirmed him on Tuesday, with an unofficial vote count from the White House Rapid Response account showing 54-46 in favor. The Hill reported a party-line tally of 53-47. Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford University and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration\u2014which challenged COVID measures like masking and social distancing\u2014argued for allowing &#8220;herd immunity&#8221; among lower-risk groups while focusing protection on older individuals. Former NIH Director Francis Collins had previously called for a strong rebuttal against this declaration, labeling its authors as &#8220;fringe epidemiologists.&#8221; During his confirmation hearing, Bhattacharya emphasized the importance of fostering debate within NIH and acknowledged concerns about public trust in the institution&#8217;s COVID response. He also pledged to work with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on addressing chronic health issues in America<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2415317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jay-Bhattacharya.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[52145,3774,38313,52148,52149],"class_list":["post-2415316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bhattacharya","tag-covid-19","tag-health-policy","tag-nih-director","tag-twitter-ban"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jay-Bhattacharya.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2415316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2415320,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415316\/revisions\/2415320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2415317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2415316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2415316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2415316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}