Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday to discuss Amazon’s initial censorship of his latest book as well as the effectiveness of lockdown strategies in the fight against coronavirus.
Berenson’s book, “Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1: Introduction and Death Counts and Estimates,” was originally turned down for publication by Amazon Kindle last Thursday until the company reversed its decision, claiming it was in “error.”
Based on data that is even “clearer in Europe” than the United States, the author’s “big picture conclusion” is that ending lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of the virus did “not seem to make much difference at all.”
WATCH:
Berenson contended that countries like Norway, Switzerland, and Denmark, none of which have the divided politics present in the U.S., “have all quickly moved to end their lockdowns and they really haven’t seen any spike.”
Looking at the United States, the former NYT reporter contended that, despite an increase in cases here or there, the overall pattern of coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations shows a decline.
“So it’s hard to paint a picture that ending lockdowns are meaningful in any way,” he said.
Responding to Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s question about his brush with Amazon censorship, Berenson contended that it was “even worse” because Amazon “has profited the most from the lockdowns” and also “has a lock on publishing right now.” (RELATED: Brit Hume And Martha MacCallum Discuss The ‘Terrible Price’ Of Coronavirus Policies Based On Asymptomatic Transmission)
“For them to do it period is censorship, even if they are not a public company they are a basically a utility for bookselling and it is wrong,” he said.
“It’s totally wrong, and by the way it’s just the beginning,” added Carlson. “You think Jeff Bezos wouldn’t shut this channel down tomorrow if he could? Of course he would.”