The newspaper The Parisian gave the floor to several doctors by asking them what they thought of the many TV appearances by Martin Blachier and Gérald Kierzek.
It’s hard to turn on the television without running into a doctor or an epidemiologist. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the latter monopolize the sets of the news channels, in particular BFMTV and LCI. Among those who are most often invited, Martin Blachier and Gérald Kierzek. These two doctors were the subject of an article in the newspaper The Parisian, who asked several doctors their opinion on their interventions. For Alice Desbiolles, public health doctor, the situation is clear: “Any expert who speaks publicly should exercise caution and humility.” According to her, this is not what Martin Blachier does, who often showed an excess of optimism, which led him to give information that turned out to be false.
Rémi Salomon goes further: “Martin Blachier and Gérald Kierzek are people who have words with disastrous consequences, such as discrediting vaccination“, explained the president of the medical commission of establishment of the Public Assistance Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). Similarly, the Scientific Council attacked several media, unnamed, on Thursday January 20, which “oppose on one side scientifically marginal opinions, doubtful or erroneous, and on the other hand opinions widely shared by the scientific communities“.
The image race
Within the medical world, the presence of Martin Blachier and Gérald Kierzek on numerous television channels is a desire to become an important media personality. Thus, the retired doctor Christian Lehmann tackles Martin Blachier: He “got it wrong all the time, he’s uninteresting and he is one of those guests who are already in the taxi when they are invited“. Today, the epidemiologist is no longer a guest on BFMTV but remains a recurring speaker at LCI.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.
Photo credits: Best image/TF1/Montage Gala