Norman Fenton's Fighting Goliath: COVID Narrative's Flawed Math

COVID-19's handling, Fenton argues, was built on flawed data and fear. "COVID hysteria was based on massively exaggerated and inappropriate statistics," he says, pointing out how loosely defined death classifications inflated numbers. “Anyone dying within 28 days of a positive PCR test was classified as a COVID death,” he explains, a definition that included unrelated fatalities. This statistical manipulation was key to creating a false image of danger, ensuring compliance and widespread testing.

He believes that "Lockdowns were a virus of idiocy, driven by flawed models and fear narratives." The elites who advocated for these policies were far removed from the impact on regular people. “Academics and elites who loved lockdowns ignored the hardships faced by others,” Fenton says, explaining how academics “were saying it’s a great opportunity…a precursor to potential future climate lockdowns.” While the public saw lockdowns as necessary, he asserts they served a hidden agenda.

Censorship, according to Fenton, intensified for anyone questioning the approach. “Censorship hit anyone challenging the narrative, including academics like me,” he states, detailing his own exclusion from publishing and speaking. His Bayesian network model—a system that could provide accurate risk assessments—was also pushed aside. “Freedom of speech and civil liberties were clamped down on by those meant to protect them,” he says.

Throughout, Fenton emphasizes the failure of risk literacy: "People’s lack of risk literacy made them more susceptible to fear and control.” With the media stoking fear, even a low false-positive rate led to hysteria. “False positives misled people; the majority were not at risk, but hysteria made them believe otherwise,” he concludes, suggesting that a more measured approach was both possible and necessary.