Factchecker debunks influencer Mary Bowden

Interview with controversial doctor. Should disinformation be given a platform?

By our healthcare editorial team

In a compelling interview on the online platform BrokenTruth.TV (on X: @BrokenTruthTV ), former CNN journalist John Davidson spoke this weekend with the American Mary Bowden, a controversial doctor who was repeatedly discredited during and after the corona pandemic because of her views on vaccination and treatment.

Bowden, an otolaryngologist in Houston, faced disciplinary proceedings and a civil judgment in previous years. Experts also say she is spreading disinformation about the efficacy and safety of corona vaccines. Bowden herself disputes that qualification.

Davidson, who left CNN several years ago, gave the impression that he was giving Bowden the opportunity to explain her views, but he questioned her sharply.

The widely respected scientific consensus, as expressed by vaccinologist Peter Hotez, dr. Bill Gates and lawyer Dorit Reiss, among others, was largely omitted in her arguments.

Claims without substantiation

At several points in the interview, Bowden made statements that experts say are untenable. For example, she stated that her medical registration would never have been revoked - a claim whose correctness could not be independently determined by this editor. She also downplayed an earlier $26,000 settlement she had to pay to Houston Methodist Hospital, a highly successful medical non-profit with $13 billion on its balance sheet.

Characteristically, Bowden declined to respond to questions about the definition of a vaccine.

When Davidson confronted her about the findings of a study on hydroxychloroquine published in The Lancet, Bowden responded evasively. She referred to problems surrounding Harvard researchers and thus opted for a classic avoidance maneuver by attacking the integrity of the researchers instead of addressing the content of the study. This is a common tactic in the anti-vax movement to distract from the lack of scientific substantiation.

Smearing the reputation of institutions such as the selfless Houston Methodist Hospital - which she previously caused financial damage - underlines the hostility she feels towards the regular healthcare structure.

Selling her own book

At the end of the conversation, Bowden showed where her primary interests lie: she called on viewers to buy her recently published book, in which she explains her views on the pandemic and government policy. The book is not published by an established scientific publisher.

Bowden could not be reached for comment.

The interview can be seen at https://www.brokentruth.tv/p/dangerous-misinformation-doctor-platformed

Complete transcript:

[0:10] DAVIDSON: Welcome to The Broken Truth, I'm John Davidson, and today I'm sitting here with celebrity veterinarian Dr. Mary Bowden. She spends a lot of time on Twitter.

[0:21] BOWDEN: I thought I was going to sit down with Mickey Willis.

[0:26] DAVIDSON: Understandable mistake. People often confuse us.

[0:28] BOWDEN: Nothing to be proud of, to be honest. And you're some kind of burnt-out advertiser, aren't you?

[0:34] DAVIDSON: An award-winning, burnt-out advertising maker. But now I do podcasts.

[0:40] BOWDEN: Ah, that's a big improvement.

[0:41] DAVIDSON: And.

[0:42] BOWDEN: I'm not a vet. I am an otolaryngologist.

[0:45] DAVIDSON: Oh. So you admit you're pretending to be a vet. Is that correct?

[0:51] BOWDEN: How do you arrive at that? What are you talking about?

[0:55] DAVIDSON: Next question. Suppose a patient comes into your consultation room.

[0:59] BOWDEN: A patient or a dog?

[1:01] DAVIDSON: A patient comes into your consultation room. Do you wait out the symptoms first, or do you just walk into the shed and grab something to shove into their house?

[1:09] BOWDEN: Well, I actually always start with a rectal examination on all my patients.

[1:13] DAVIDSON: Are you accepting new patients?

[1:17] BOWDEN: Not you.

[1:18] DAVIDSON: You whine a lot at X about the mRNA vaccines. If they were really dangerous, wouldn't a reliable news source like NBC or CNN report it?

[1:29] BOWDEN: Didn't you used to work for CNN?

[1:32] DAVIDSON: That's where I learned my journalism.

[1:33] BOWDEN: Well, that explains a lot.

[1:37] DAVIDSON: Don't you think it's dangerous to scare people away from the safest and most effective vaccine in history?

[1:45] BOWDEN: It's not a vaccine. Can you define for me what a vaccine is, John?

[1:53] DAVIDSON: John? It's a… Next question. Yes, that's what I thought. Why would anyone listen to you when highly respected scientists like Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Bill Gates and Dr. Dorit Reiss all say these vaccines are safe and effective?

[2:14] BOWDEN: Well, for starters, despite what CNN probably told you: Bill Gates is not a doctor. Neither does Dorit. Dorit is an academic lawyer. She doesn't even practice.

[2:31] DAVIDSON: Dr. Robert Malone said that the truth is a lion. If that lion were here, would you give it horse dewormer to kill it? Or do you save that for the ultra-mega-Trumpers? Are you hungry? We had the catering pick up some snacks. This is oats.

[2:55] BOWDEN: Oats? Just give me a bitterbal.

[2:58] DAVIDSON: We'll make a note of that. You recently lost a lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital. Is that correct?

[3:11] BOWDEN: "Verloren" is misschien niet het juiste woord. Een tegenslag.

[3:14] DAVIDSON: And you have to pay them money, right?

[3:16] BOWDEN: It's a setback. We are still in the consultation phase.

[3:19] DAVIDSON: How much do you have to pay them?

[3:22] BOWDEN: How much should I pay them? About $26,000.

[3:24] DAVIDSON: Do you think that's enough to get the company back out of the red?

[3:29] BOWDEN: Well. Houston Methodist is a non-profit. They have over $13 billion on their balance sheet. So they will manage this little lawsuit.

[3:36] DAVIDSON: It's a non-profit, right?

[3:41] BOWDEN: It's a non-profit, yes.

[3:43] DAVIDSON: Hmm. Did you recently lose your medical registration for killing people with ivermectin?

[3:52] BOWDEN: No, no, not at all. I have always had my registration, and I will continue to have it. I'm fighting it out with the medical disciplinary board on principle, and I expect to win in the end.

[4:07] DAVIDSON: Do you think you would have this fight with the disciplinary board if you lived in a conservative state instead of Texas?

[4:14] BOWDEN: Yes, Texas is not what people think. The healthcare industry has turned Texas in a different direction.

[4:25] DAVIDSON: When you get your registration back, which zoo will you drive to first for new treatment ideas?

[4:34] BOWDEN: If you need help with your hearing, I'm an ear specialist and I can help you, because apparently you didn't hear me properly. I have my registration. That has never been a problem. And I don't treat animals. I treat people. But you know that very well.

[4:51] DAVIDSON: Okay. Interesting answer. Have you also pushed hydrochloroquine to your patients?

[4:57] BOWDEN: Hydroxychloroquine. Okay. That was an option for patients if I thought it was appropriate.

[5:04] DAVIDSON: Was it a turn-off for you that it wasn't a horse remedy?

[5:10] BOWDEN: Texas actually didn't let me use it for a long time. They banned it. They said you could only use it for certain conditions and not for COVID.

[5:22] DAVIDSON: But you let people take way too much, right? So much that it could kill them?

[5:28] BOWDEN: Kun jij mij vertellen hoeveel "veel te veel" is, dokter?

[5:35] DAVIDSON: A very important study came out in June 2020 The Lancet that showed you MAGA doctors killing people with hydroxychloroquine.

[5:44] BOWDEN: Surgisphere?

[5:46] DAVIDSON: Volgens mij was dat 'm. En een van die artsen kwam zelfs van Harvard.

[5:50] BOWDEN: Right, right.

[5:51] DAVIDSON: And we all know Harvard is the best. I don't know where he studied.

[5:53] BOWDEN: Well, as far as I know that article has been retracted. That doctor got into a lot of trouble. Hello? Hello?

[6:06] DAVIDSON: One of the online heroes who exposed your dangerous treatments early in the pandemic was a pharmacist with an OnlyFans account. Do you think you would reach more people with your message if you also had an OnlyFans account?

[6:21] BOWDEN: Possibly with politicians in Washington, but… Well, you should take a look.

[6:27] DAVIDSON: It's kind of where the professionals…

[6:29] BOWDEN: I'm not taking any career advice from you, but thanks.

[6:35] DAVIDSON: Well, that was all the time we had with Dr. Mary Bowden. Congratulations on all your scamming. Good luck with your book. Does your book come with crayons, or do the children have to bring their own?

[6:49] BOWDEN: Journalist John? No, it's a real book, and I want everyone to buy it.

[6:54] DAVIDSON: Welcome to Broken Truth, I'm John Dean.

Wat moeten we nou toch met de quasi-humor van de fatsoenlijke tussen-de-schuifdeuren-suflulletjes die door de NPO worden ingezet? Waar is de tijd van Koot en Bie gebleven, van Bram en Freek, Jiskefet zelfs nog? Hans Teeuwen heb ik ook al een tijd niet meer gezien (de laatste keer in Afas live, A'dam).