On Saturday, after the release of new guidance on mask-wearing from the Centers for Disease Control, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) fired back at YouTube censors who had suspended him from the website last August after he had warned that cloth masks do not protect against the coronavirus.
Paul tweeted, “Does this mean snot-nosed censors at YouTube will come to my office and kiss my … and admit I was right?”
Does this mean snot-nosed censors at YouTube will come to my office and kiss my … and admit I was right?https://t.co/0BZ2HZHiZW
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 15, 2022
Paul had released a video last August in which he stated, “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection,” adding, “cloth masks don’t work.”
Speaking to NBC News at the time, a spokesperson for YouTube said that the video violated company policy on Covid-19 misinformation, such as “claims that wearing a mask is dangerous or causes negative physical health effects” or that masks were ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19.
The spokesperson continued, “We removed content from Senator Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19, in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies.. This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can’t upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy.
Paul issued a separate post in which he said, “I haven’t lied. I haven’t used expletives. I haven’t spread misinformation. I have only told the truth about what our government seeks to do to us, curtailing our most basic liberties, using the COVID-19 pandemic as their excuse.”
Last Friday, the CDC admitted that “loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection.”
The New York Times reported:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday clarified its stance on various kinds of masks, acknowledging that the cloth masks frequently worn by Americans do not offer as much protection as surgical masks or respirators.
While this disparity is widely known to the general public, the update marks the first time the C.D.C. has explicitly addressed the differences. The agency’s website also no longer refers to a shortage of respirators.
Referring to earlier in the pandemic, The Times noted, “When the C.D.C. finally recommended masks for ordinary Americans, it emphasized cloth face coverings. …. According to the C.D.C.’s new description of masks, loosely woven cloth products provide the least protection and layered finely woven products offer more.”
Bell County Health Authority Dr. Janice Smith in Texas stated in early January, “The omicron variant as you know is at least three times more contagious than our previous variants including the Delta. The cloth masks they don’t filter those COVID particles very well.”
Even CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen, who also serves as public health visiting professor at George Washington University, admitted, “Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations and should not be considered an acceptable form of face covering. The US should require (& distribute) medical-grade surgical masks to be worn in crowded indoor spaces.”
1) First, wear a high-quality mask.
Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations and should not be considered an acceptable form of face covering. The US should require (& distribute) medical-grade surgical masks to be worn in crowded indoor spaces.
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) December 21, 2021