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National Geographic, once a well-respected science magazine, is taking heat for citing so-called “experts” to claim that masking children is somehow beneficial for them.
“Experts say most evidence suggests that masking doesn’t harm children—and that it benefits them in more ways than one,” the magazine said in announcing its piece on Twitter early Friday morning.
The tweet was quickly ratioed, with critics rushing to debunk the narrative that National Geographic was trying to sell its audience.
Look:
Who are these so-called “experts?” What kind of nonsense is this?
— Libertarian Party of New York (@lpnyofficial) February 19, 2022
Experts need more common sense.
— JGH (@Hubb57) February 20, 2022
“Experts say” is all you need to recognize the propaganda. Hard pass.
— jraculla 🇺🇲 (@jrachwal) February 19, 2022
“Experts say” – the two most abused and misused words in the English language. Which experts? Because there are plenty of experts (and parents!) saying the opposite.
This isn’t journalism. It’s propaganda.
— Uncommon Sense (@UncommonSense74) February 20, 2022
Nonsense! The media doesn’t even seem to realize that using the word “experts” tells everyone they interviewed one person who agrees with their premise and called them experts.
— JeffTB (@JeffTB49) February 20, 2022
Post the peer review proven science with documentation…
You cant
Most evidence?
Experts say but can’t prove…You are an embarrassment
Go back to filming naked indigenous tribes for liberals cheap thrillsYou will now be a junk science lying network forevermore.
☠️🇺🇲☠️— RichieSigns (@RichieSigns1776) February 20, 2022
The “experts” include Samantha Mitsven, a psychology doctoral candidate (i.e., someone who hasn’t yet earned their graduate degree) at the University of Miami.
“Mitsven led a recent study analyzing audio recordings of preschoolers—one classroom that was observed over multiple visits before the pandemic and another classroom that was observed when the children and teachers were required to mask,” according to National Geographic.
“The study found no difference in how much the children spoke or the diversity of the language they used. This was true even for children with hearing aids and cochlear implants, a population that made up half of each class.”
But her single study is contrasted by the testimony of numerous parents:
Chicago father says masks mandates are hurting his 3-year-old son, Jack, who was diagnosed with speech delay.
“It’s setting him back and it’s making what is already an uphill climb even more difficult.” pic.twitter.com/UNasubfsYm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 12, 2022
First up is a parent of three kids who is also a speech pathologist. She feels communication is important for students, and that means maskless. Says children with speaking disorders may struggle communicating w/ masks. @WCCO @WaconiaSchools pic.twitter.com/K52LJ41kOo
— Jeff Wagner (@Jeff_Wagner4) August 10, 2021
“Parents of younger kids say they have trouble keeping the masks clean and that they impede services for those with special needs. One mom said her son’s speech therapist couldn’t work on his goals because she couldn’t see his mouth.”
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) July 18, 2021
“Some teachers, parents, and speech pathologists have reported that masks can make learning difficult for some of America’s most vulnerable children, including those with cognitive delays, speech and hearing issues, and autism…” https://t.co/MG6i7aSgq8
— Whitney Wild (@WhitneyWReports) January 26, 2022
Even Dr. Leana Wen, a COVID zealot who works for CNN, has warned of the problems posed by forcing children to mask up:
Many parents, doctors, speech pathologists, etc have seen the impact of prolonged masking in children. It can both be true that masks reduce covid spread AND that they cause harm to some kids—especially younger children, children with learning disabilities, and English learners.
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) February 16, 2022
Another “expert” cited by National Geographic is Walter Gilliam, a child psychiatry and psychology professor at Yale University whose “evidence” appears to be his opinion.
National Geographic notes that a valid study published last year “in Frontiers in Psychology showed that children between the ages of three and five were less adept at recognizing the emotions on photographs of people wearing masks compared to photographs of unmasked people.”
But William “says this study and others like it are limited by their reliance on still photographs.”
“I’m more than just my eyeballs,” were his exact words.
As counter-“evidence,” he points to “another study showing that children have no more difficulty reading the emotions of a person wearing a face mask than they do a person wearing sunglasses.”
National Geographic also cites the words of Theresa Guilbert, a pediatric pulmonologist. FYI, pulmonology refers to respiratory issues.
“Guilbert agrees that there’s no sign that masking keeps children and adolescents from developing socially—and, she argues, it might be key to ensuring they can go to school. Over the course of two years, evidence has grown that masking policies help schools stay open by reducing the number of outbreaks,” the magazine claims.
Evidence has also shown that the reopening of schools has been tied almost exclusively to the influence of teachers’ unions …
Teachers’ union president bucks CDC, demands elementary students mask up until vaccinated https://t.co/IbCYI2mlwv
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) May 23, 2021
Not mentioned anywhere in National Geographic’s piece is the fact that on the global level, the United States is extraordinarily rare in its decision to mask up young children.
Most Western countries have never forced young children to mask up. And even those who did implement mask policies have since rescinded them amid the pandemic’s decline.
“Kids under 12 in Europe largely never wore masks, incldg in schools. Here, we mask kids as young as 2, inside & out… Speak up for [your] children…
Tell the governor to rely on science instead of bureaucratic whim. Tell them to do it now, & spare kids a summer of mask hell.” https://t.co/dv32lzJsoM— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) May 24, 2021
But thanks to “experts” like Mitsven, a veritable grad student, the push to keep children masks remains alive and well here in the states …
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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