Fauci Was Awarded $1 Million For ‘Defending Science’ And ‘Speaking Truth To Power.’ Why?

In February, Dr. Anthony Fauci received a $1 million Israeli prize for “speaking truth to power” and for “defending science.”

“As the COVID-19 pandemic unraveled, [Fauci] leveraged his considerable communication skills to address people gripped by fear and anxiety and worked relentlessly to inform individuals in the United States and elsewhere about the public health measures essential for containing the pandemic’s spread,” the awards committee said, as reported by NPR. “In addition, he has been widely praised for his courage in speaking truth to power in a highly charged political environment.”

As a result, the question on the lips of many is simply, “why?”

On the subject of communication skills, is it true that Fauci addressed people “gripped by fear and anxiety and worked relentlessly” to keep them informed? This is the same man who held five different positions on the subject of masks in less than a year. First, masks were unnecessary, then we should wear them, then they would be required after vaccinations were distributed, then the use of two masks was endorsed, and then masks were presented as necessary until COVID-19 no longer posed a threat. It seems difficult to alleviate people’s fear and anxiety when the supposedly “scientific” message being presented changes every few months.

Then, can we truly say that he “worked relentlessly?” During an ongoing global pandemic, he managed to find time to appear on the front cover of InStyle magazine, People magazine, and “throw” out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game. In reality, Fauci became a pseudo-celebrity as the notion of science increasingly became a political battleground, with the “pro-science” Democrats on one side, and the supposedly “anti-science” Republicans on the other. 

This “politically charged environment” raises the third issue, which is that Fauci was awarded for his “courage in speaking truth to power.” We’ve already established that Fauci’s definition of the “truth” should be taken with a modest pinch of salt. Then we must question what “speaking truth to power” means in this context.

In September, Fauci denied that he was ever “muzzled” by the Trump administration, saying that he “would never be muzzled about anything when it comes to science and evidence and the facts.” Given that he was never silenced by Trump, does “speaking truth to power” mean simply disagreeing on the interpretation of routinely misinterpreted data? If that is the case, one can presume that Fauci will receive this same award in 2022, given that he debunked the Biden administration’s false claims that they were “starting from scratch” when it came to a national vaccine plan.

One of the worst outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic — beyond the physical and economic impact — has been the disregard of the objective virtue and the ultimate purpose of science, which is to seek the truth. In 2020, Fauci did many things, but sharing the truth is arguably not one of them.

Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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