{"id":2639764,"date":"2026-08-03T16:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrfk-media-cited-fake-experts-to-punish-dissent-during-covid-dana-bash-that-is-my-job\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:08:38","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrfk-media-cited-fake-experts-to-punish-dissent-during-covid-dana-bash-that-is-my-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrfk-media-cited-fake-experts-to-punish-dissent-during-covid-dana-bash-that-is-my-job\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK: Media Cited Fake Experts During Covid. Bash: &#8216;That Is My Job&#8217;"},"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\">24<\/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%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrfk-media-cited-fake-experts-to-punish-dissent-during-covid-dana-bash-that-is-my-job%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=2639764&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>CNN\u2019s Dana Bash has been criticized for promoting what is described as a \u201ctrust the experts\u201d narrative that many believe contributed to misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bash questioned Kennedy\u2019s emphasis on protecting constitutional rights, seemingly dismissing concerns about government overreach and censorship that occurred during the pandemic. Kennedy accused mainstream media, including CNN, of amplifying fear and suppressing dissenting opinions, particularly criticizing CNN for its focus on death tolls and support for lockdown measures.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy challenged Bash to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >provide scientific evidence supporting claims<\/a> about vaccine effectiveness and safety, particularly regarding children, but she responded with assertions about the impact of vaccine misinformation without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-criminal-justice-system-gave-up-on-punishing-criminals\/\" title=\"The Criminal Justice System&#039;s Abandonment of Criminal Punishment\">citing specific studies<\/a>. He also pointed out that CNN was instrumental in creating and perpetuating fear, and accused the network of issue bias and propagating government narratives, especially regarding COVID-19 measures.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation also touched on the alleged misinformation spread by health authorities like Dr. Anthony Fauci, with Kennedy asserting that Fauci lied on several topics such as masking, social distancing, and virus transmission, and that the media played a role in punishing critics.Bash defended her role by claiming she was reporting the best details available,but Kennedy countered that the media and certain experts manipulated public trust,further suggesting that mainstream outlets failed in their journalistic duties during the crisis.  <\/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<div>\n<p>CNN\u2019s Dana Bash is still living in the \u201ctrust the experts\u201d fantasyland that was thoroughly exposed as fake during the coronavirus pandemic, as she continues to push for constitutional rights getting thrown out the window when government responds to a \u201cpublic health crisis.\u201d The CNN host also argued that it was her \u201cjob\u201d to parrot the talking points of so-called \u201cexperts\u201d who did so much damage during the Covid crisis.<\/p>\n<p>In a heated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2026\/08\/02\/rfk_jr_blasts_cnns_bash_fauci_lied_and_you_punished_people_for_not_believing_him.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview<\/a> with Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Bash feigned misunderstanding when Kennedy spoke of preventing a repeat of the government\u2019s Covid-era abuses during the next health crisis. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDana, the other thing I would say is that we need to protect our constitutional rights. That is the primary obligation,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d Bash replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring COVID, we completely dismantled our constitutional rights. We began censoring people in violation of the First Amendment,\u201d Kennedy said, before being cut off by Bash saying, \u201cYou\u2019re saying what not to do. I\u2019m asking what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m talking about something to do. That is the number-one priority. We protect the Constitution. The Constitution was written \u2026\u201d Kennedy said, as Bash cut him off again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re talking about rights, and I\u2019m asking about a potential public-health crisis that is coming,\u201d Bash interjected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the mistakes we made last time was suppressing those rights, so people weren\u2019t being heard. Doctors who were saying, \u2018You\u2019re doing it wrong,\u2019 were being marginalized and vilified,\u201d Kennedy said before Bash tried to change the subject.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>.<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SecKennedy<\/a> NUKES <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DanaBashCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DanaBashCNN<\/a>:  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not debating this with you.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Of course you won&#8217;t. All you know how to do is repeat things that people told you and say, &#8216;Trust the experts!&#8217; That&#8217;s what you did during Covid. Now we know that Anthony Fauci, who was the &#8216;expert,&#8217; was\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IVRLJfDSZ6\">pic.twitter.com\/IVRLJfDSZ6<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u2014 Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2083910177342767384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But Kennedy did not let Bash or CNN off the hook: \u201cYou were part of the problem,\u201d he told the host.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of the problem was absolute press malpractice. \u2026 Your job is fierce skepticism toward authority, and you weren\u2019t doing that,\u201d Kennedy continued.<\/p>\n<p>Bash continued to interrupt, and then Kennedy questioned her about the claim that the coronavirus shot protected children from contracting the virus. When Kennedy challenged her to produce \u201cone study,\u201d she changed the subject again, stating, \u201cI can tell you that there have been studies showing that, because of vaccine misinformation and disinformation, 100,000 to 200,000 lives in the U.S. could have been saved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are saying nonsense. You are saying something for which you cannot show me a single study. \u2026 You are talking about what somebody told you. Cite me the study. What study?\u201d Kennedy continued, before pointing out Bash\u2019s tactic of \u201cmaking assertions\u201d she couldn\u2019t support and then saying Kennedy was \u201carguing\u201d when he tried to refute them.<\/p>\n<p>Bash admitted that parts of the reaction to the coronavirus were not accurate, but then justified the reaction: \u201cIt was a scary time, and people made mistakes.\u201d Kennedy countered that CNN was one of the primary sources deliberately \u201cscaring people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was the job of CNN: to put the chyrons up about how many people \u2026\u201d Kennedy said, as Bash cut him off again. <\/p>\n<p>CNN became infamous for running the constant death toll from the virus during the Trump administration. CNN also routinely justified major constitutional infringements and helped authoritarians in federal and state governments with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/04\/02\/politics\/fauci-stay-home-coronavirus-states-cnntv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narrative control<\/a>, including on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/18\/media\/coronavirus-reliable-sources\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lockdowns<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/03\/21\/health\/social-distancing-coronavirus-faq-wellness-trnd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social distancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/28\/fauci-diary-revelations-prove-jake-tapper-was-never-a-real-journalist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Dr. Anthony Fauci was able to place questions with CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper in order to undermine the coronavirus response as well.<\/p>\n<p>Bash tried to pin \u201cvaccine hesitancy\u201d on Kennedy, maintaining there is absolutely no link between certain vaccines and autism. Kennedy said the Trump administration is looking into whether there is a link, and did not definitively say there was one, but Bash appeared to believe that even doing the research is an affront to the \u201cexpert\u201d class that has claimed none exists.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you see your job as ending vaccine hesitancy, or do you see your job as telling the truth to the American people?\u201d Kennedy asked Bash.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see my job as telling the truth,\u201d Bash replied. \u201cThe truth is that there is study after study after study. It is one of the most studied things out there in science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy quickly disabused her of that notion, stating, \u201cYou\u2019re repeating it like a parrot. Have you actually read the science? \u2026 All you want to do is repeat things that people told you and say, \u2018trust the experts.\u2019 That\u2019s what you did during COVID.\u201d Bash kept defending her parroting of \u201cexpert\u201d talking point by saying it was her \u201cjob\u201d to \u201ctalk to people\u201d and \u201cget the best information out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow we know that Anthony Fauci, who was the expert, was lying about everything \u2014 about masks, about social distancing, about natural immunity, about transmission from the vaccine and about the source of COVID,\u201d he continued. \u201cHe was lying, and you were punishing people for not trusting the experts. Now you\u2019re rolling out the experts again to talk about something you have no personal knowledge of.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNN\u2019s Dana Bash pushes \u201ctrust the experts\u201d myth again<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2639765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-03-143703.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[83341,83623,44465,80131,23694],"class_list":["post-2639764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-covid19","tag-fakeexperts","tag-mediacriticism","tag-publichealth","tag-rfk"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-03-143703.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639764","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\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2639764"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2639772,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2639764\/revisions\/2639772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2639765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2639764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2639764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2639764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}