Follow the Science: The Dark Side of Big Pharma
The complex web of collusion between Big Pharma, government agencies, and media outlets—and how their profits come at the expense of our health.
Follow the Science
When the phrase “follow the science” became the rallying cry during the COVID-19 pandemic, many trusted that public health officials and experts were guiding us toward safety. But Sharyl Attkisson, a fearless journalist with a history of exposing corruption, recognized a familiar playbook of powerful interests and woven narratives. After venturing into the dark underbelly of the pharmaceutical industry, she has emerged with her latest book, "Follow the Science".
In the above webinar, hosted by FLCCC Senior Fellow Dr. Jordan Vaughn, we are joined by Sharyl Attkisson herself. Together, they explore the same themes Sharyl covers in her book, namely the complex web of collusion between Big Pharma, government agencies, and media outlets—and how their profits come at the expense of our health.
Sharyl Attkisson Refuses to Look the Other Way
Sharyl Attkisson is one of the few true journalists left—a rare breed of investigative reporters who prioritize truth over narratives and refuse to bow to corporate or political pressures.
“Sharyl is a recipient of five Emmy Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative journalism. She’s worked at CBS, PBS, and CNN. Most importantly, she’s just fresh off probably teaching her most recent black belt class for Taekwondo.”
Attkisson has been onto the corrupt side of the pharmaceutical industry for a long while:
“This started many years ago as an investigative reporter at CBS News. They assigned me to look into some medical scandals, which were very much like other scandals I’d been covering—corporate scandals, government scandals—with similar components like whistleblowers, deep cover-ups, and financial interests.”
By the time COVID-19 hit, Sharyl Attkisson was already hip to Big Pharma's scheme. As she began exposing the cracks in the COVID narrative, it didn’t take long for her path to cross with the FLCCC. She has interviewed FLCCC co-founders Dr. Paul Marik and Dr. Pierre Kory, as well as Senior Fellows like Dr. Vaughn.
Without Attkisson’s fearless questioning of COVID-19 policy, the intersection of science and politics could be even more deeply entangled in misinformation. Her work has helped spark a global awakening, as more people begin to recognize the harms caused by misguided policies and profit-driven narratives.
In 'Follow the Science', Atkisson exposes the multi-faceted reasons why our health has been in sharp decline for years. Below, you'll get a taste of what's inside, but you'll need the book to get the whole scoop!
Mass Media, Big Pharma, and Government—Oh My
When Dr. Vaughn asked Attkisson how the manipulation of journalists by pharmaceutical interests plays out, she didn’t mince words:
“At first, most of the pressure was coming from outside of CBS, but from advertisers that were spending billions of dollars,” she said. “This is how they can control content of news organizations—by spending billions of dollars buying advertising and threatening to withdraw it if the evening news kept reporting these stories.”
The power dynamic shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic when public health narratives became intertwined with these financial interests.
“When it gets into the vaccine world, it’s even bigger and involves government and politicians,” Attkisson noted. “They’re all working to controversialize the stories, censor, and stop them.”
For those of us who followed the pandemic closely, it's hard to forget how public health officials and politicians used the phrase ‘follow the science’ to justify policy decisions that often lacked transparency or effectiveness. In an era where silence was the norm, Attkisson chose to expose the blatant lies she couldn't help but see.
The Manipulation of Journalists by Pharma Interests
The pressure on journalists isn’t just about ad dollars. Attkisson described the tactics used to keep reporters in line.
“People will say to you—and I’m sure other reporters were told the same by public health officials—‘If you report this, babies will die. You don’t want to kill babies, do you?’”
This kind of emotional manipulation is designed to control the narrative by playing on the fears of journalists.
“I started to see that it wasn’t my job as a journalist to hide facts and censor the truth just because the government doesn’t want to deal with the fallout. Science doesn’t support censorship; science isn’t about hiding the truth. We’re told to 'follow the science,' but that phrase is often used to silence legitimate scientific debate.”
Attkisson paints a grim picture of modern journalism, revealing how media outlets have become conduits for misinformation and fake science. “Led by The New York Times, there was a lot of false propaganda,” she explained. “Very early on, I was labeled a COVID denier simply for reporting the truth about vaccines and the conflicts behind them.”
She recounted being included in a New York Times article labeling top COVID deniers, despite her rigorous investigative work.
“They included me with more prominent people, and I’d never denied COVID. What we all had in common was that we understood vaccine corruption.”
These tactics are used to smear those who would expose the truth and silence the injured and smear anyone challenging the narrative.
Read 'Discovering the Disinformation Playbook'
Battling the Misinformation Machine
Attkisson has faced smear campaigns from known puppet figures like Peter Hotez and Paul Offit, who have attempted to discredit her work.
“Peter Hotez accused me of doxing him and comparing him to Mengele, the Nazi doctor,” she recounted. “It was a complete lie, and I had to get my lawyer involved to force a retraction.”
The same pattern emerged with Dr. Paul Offit, who fabricated claims about Attkisson after a CBS report.
“He made up a story about me, saying I threatened him,” she said. “I saved the emails and got the Orange County Register to retract everything he said because it was all false.”
If their instincts are to discredit and malign, could it be that they lack confidence in their own arguments? Instead of engaging in open debate, their instinct to attack dissenting voices might reveal insecurity, suggesting that their stance isn't as solid as they want the public to believe.
The Rewards of Repeating the Narrative
Attkisson offers a sobering assessment of why so few journalists challenge the mainstream.
“Instead, people are being rewarded for repeating the narrative the best. There’s a lot of groupthink that you may not expect among an intelligent pool of people.”
The systemic incentives are clear: journalists who toe the line and repeat official narratives are promoted, while those who investigate and question are sidelined.
“Politicians used the phrase ‘follow the science’ to politicize legitimate scientific inquiry,” Attkisson explained. “Journalists are pressured to repeat the narrative, and those who question are marginalized.”
How Conflicts Shape The Next Generation of Doctors
The corruption doesn’t stop at journalism—it infiltrates medical education. Vaughn and Attkisson highlighted how pharmaceutical companies have turned medical schools into breeding grounds for compliance rather than critical thinking.
“Medical schools have become pre-employment programs for multi-billion-dollar medical center. They’re training lapdogs.”
Attkisson pointed to the influence of conflicted sources in continuing medical education (CME) programs and resources like Medscape, where doctors unknowingly receive biased information. To verify that fact, Attkisson infiltrated a CME program:
“In the webinar about COVID vaccine safety in kids, they were taught nothing about serious adverse events. Instead, they cited the study where Maddie de Garay was injured and claimed no serious adverse events were reported.”
With this kind of misinformation being presented as "authoritative", most career-minded young doctors would find it difficult to see the truth amidst lies.
The Research Community is Having a Medical Ethics Crisis
Attkisson didn't shy away from discussing the ethical lapses in medical research, recounting how parents were deceived in government studies.
“These unethical practices harm the most vulnerable among us. It's fake science supported by deep cover-ups.”
One glaring example is the HHS funded RECOVER Study, which Attkisson says is intentionally ignoring vaccine-related injuries by attributing all cases to long COVID.
“They’re not separating vaccine injuries,” she explained. “They’re calling everything long COVID, and when I asked them about it, they went dark on me.”
Of course, if the government wants to explain away vaccine injury by calling it long COVID, what can we expect? By ignoring the role of COVID-19 vaccines in these injuries, they're skewing data that informs COVID-19 response and public policy.
Attkisson also highlighted the pervasive conflicts of interest even in medical textbooks, such as the Merck Manual, which falsely claimed that the Gardasil vaccine had no serious adverse events.
Download the FLCCC guide: 'How to Read Scientific Papers and Research Articles Effectively'.
The Awakening Creeps Ever Closer
Attkisson closed with a powerful reflection on the broader impact of the pandemic.
“In one fell swoop, by being so audacious with the misinformation, it woke a lot of people up. And born from that were groups like the FLCCC.”
This awakening isn’t just about questioning public health narratives—it’s about reclaiming our right to know the truth, to challenge power, and to demand accountability from those who wield it. Attkisson’s work stands as a testament to the importance of truly following the science—not the mantra, but the messy, unvarnished reality of it.
“The phrase ‘follow the science’ has been used as a mantle of science to justify policies during the COVID-19 crisis. But we must ensure our trust in science is not misplaced due to misinformation and politicization.”
She emphasized that science alone should guide our decisions, free from external influences.
Dr. Vaughn called on his fellow physicians to own up to their mistakes. “As physicians, we need to repent that we were wrong, not double down,” he said. “We’ve got to admit when we’ve been influenced in ways we didn’t see.”
And though admitting past mistakes isn't easy, FLCCC is here to help soften the landing with resources designed for patients and professionals alike:
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I know exactly when the media were bought and paid for.
60 Minutes and 20/20 stopped investigating .
“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power” .
― Benito Mussolini