COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science

by Marc Siegel

Separating FACT from FICTION in the COVID-19 Epidemic


People are afraid. COVID-19 has upended our lives as it poses new medical dangers, economic suffering and grave uncertainty about the world around us. The collateral damage is enormous, but politics invade perception. There are so many unknowns. Does a treatment work? Is a vaccine coming? How likely are you to catch COVID and how can you best protect yourself and your family? What are the real risks and what is hysteria? Where are our fear leaders? What are their agendas?


From Fox News Medical Contributor and the author of False Alarm (Wiley, 2008) comes COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science by Marc Siegel, M.D. This shocking exposé of the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the invisible virus reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that limit our abilities to safely make decisions and protect our families in a world of uncertainty.


Life for citizens of the developed world before the pandemic was safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence–—but COVID-19 has stolen that security and our nation's peace of mind. Now there is a pandemic virus, as well as a crippling epidemic of fear sweeping America. Why? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we already lived in an artificially created culture of fear that was just waiting to be unleashed. In COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear: government, the media, and our own psyche. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, compounded now by the worst contagion of our lifetimes, he shows how fear mongers manipulate our most primitive instincts—often without our even realizing it. COVID shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against these crippling fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives, even as we battle the pandemic itself.

Genres: Science, Politics, History, Nonfiction

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Michael Jolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

About four days ago I got lectured to by boisterous get-vaxxed-wear-mask self-proclaimed expert (uninvited of course), and I mentioned that I was reading this book, but this individual instantly became dismissive. Therefore, on a personal note I don’t know why I bother writing a review since most people have their opinions and don’t care to learn more, let alone read the damn book — BUT, at the same time, this sad loser also validated “COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science”’s claim that the general public is motivated by irrational fear. This book is sorta like the unofficial “commission report” on the 2020 pandemic because about two-thirds of the book are devoted to the previous hundred years. Dr. Siegel begins with the 1918 Spanish Flu and works his way through the century hitting on all the major epidemics and pandemics that countries have faced, and then centers on Swine Flu and the Obama administration in detail; the book is not simply a review of the coronavirus outbreak. This might be a strange example, but reading “COVID” is like slowly looking at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in order from one side to another. Dr. Siegel discusses most of this through the vantage point of fear vs. politics and how it spurred false narratives (face masks and hydroxychloroquine being the prime examples). He uses personal stories from his own practice which do a phenomenal job of articulating concepts, and gives everyone (Donald Trump, Dr. Fauci, Andrew Cuomo, Joe Biden, Chairman Xi and the full mainstream media) a fair shake in his assessment of what they did right, and what they did wrong, and where their actual good decisions were actually skewed for political points. (Yes, someone wrote a book that actually complimented good decisions by both Trump and Biden. Imagine that!). Released in November, the book discusses vaccines but doesn’t leave much for the conversations that are on-going right now. Either way, if you want an in-depth look at this virus, this is the book to read. For the record: if you are someone what refuses to wear a face mask, read this book. If you are someone who is vaccinated and walking around with two face masks, read this book.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to review this book before reading any other reviews.

Although a lot of information in this book was along my views, there were a lot of holes that were not addressed, as I would have expected from a Fox News medical correspondant. The fact that there is a lot of talk about the fear factor in making this disease go out of control (by the media), the author still does not address the glaring holes in the narrative. So although I finished it, I found myself wanting more - I wanted to talk to the author to ask why he ignored such important avenues in the fear mongering of the Coronavirus pandemic.

All he had to do was speak of the faulty PCR testing and the lid would have been blown off the whole thing. Where is your research into this one smoking gun? At least a mention of it would have shown that the author was interested in dampering peoples fear over this media born pandemic.

Also the references - the references were all listed at the end of the book and include info from the CDC, WHO, Fox, ABC, etc. And there are no references within the actual book. There are a lot of scientific articles out there that go against the authors views but nothing was mentioned. The author believes masks work to some degree - this is disputed by published literature but was not mentioned. Again, the PCR test being "not fit for purpose" has information and research all over the internet as well as out of Dr. Fauci's own mouth, but that was not mentioned either.

I was hoping this was going ot be a book that would awaken people to think for themselves and see the holes the media has created in their narrative regarding Coronavirus. But instead it turned out to be (for the most part) to agree with what's out there in MSM. So for me, although well written, there were a lot of areas not mentioned that should have been to give a full picture and allow people to make an informed decision with all of the information.

[Steven H · Rating 2 out of 5]

DO WE FEAR AND PANIC “OUT OF PROPORTION TO THE ACTUAL RISK”?

Author Marc Siegel wrote in the Introduction to this 2020 book, “Fear invaded our homes like never before, affecting more and more people. Newspaper headlines were apocalyptic warnings. Media obsessions fueled our cycles of worry, which burned out only to be replaced by more alarming cycles…. How did it get to be this way? Fear was looming larger in our lives now with the pandemic more than ever before. Yet no one had ever tried to integrate what scientists had learned about the physiology of fear with the increased reliance on fear on the part of both the media and the politicians… My investigations of fear showed me that it is designed to be protective, that animals use it to sense genuine threats to their survival. At the same time, humans have the ability to exaggerate fear until it threatens our health… This pattern of distortion led me directly to the media. How many of us listen to somber-toned newscasters and expect that what we are hearing is valid information… When did the crew-cut, thick-glasses, thin-tie anchorman become today’s harbinger of doom?” (Pg. xii-xiii)

He adds, “The symptoms of fear, the maladaptive kind, include an exaggerated sense of vulnerability, out of proportion to the actual risk… the illness of fear interferes with function.” (Pg. xiv) He explains, “Some of the narratives of this book are drawn mainly from the many patients I have known who have lived in fear and have struggled to cope in the face of growing misinformation. Their stories are juxtaposed with the true science that had eluded them and the societal trends that heightened their anxiety…In examining and reexamining fear, I have attempted to find a new social model to explain today’s COVID pandemic… I have discovered that the disease model for infection and epidemic fits fear the best. Fear is physiological, but today’s fear had become pathological. It spread via distorted hype to those who might not have been overly worried in the first place.’ (Pg. xvii)

In the first chapter, he states, “Every warning about a scary new disease, every report of terrorist chatter, and every ultra-frail senior citizen becomes a justification for some government worker’s job, from a research scientist all the way to the president himself… Of course, government officials couldn’t grab the media megaphone if the media themselves didn’t make it available. The mass media tend to magnify the latest health concern and broadcast it to millions. This has the effect of … provoking panic way out of proportion to the risks… The authorities we used to look to in the community have been replaced by unfeeling conglomerates that thrive in a climate of uncertainty.” (Pg. 6)

He asks, “Why are some people infected with hysteria out of proportion to the risks, while others seem impervious? Some of my patients worry over every symptom, while others never seem afraid of disease of death… Ultimately, we must develop prescriptions for the range of fears that patients’ experience. These prescriptions must be practical and designed to break the cycle of worry. Those in society who inform us .. whether in government, the media, or health care---should be committed to maintaining a perspective based on realistic assessments of risk, rather than an agenda based on politics or profit.” (Pg. 8-9)

He suggests, “Post-9/11, there was a new narrative. In this story, people were pulling together to fight a common enemy… After a few years, the media was growing weary of the new narrative… Despite this shift in emphasis, one strategy remained the same throughout all the narratives: newspapers, television, and radio continued to exaggerate minor dangers… We had lost the ability to assess risk. Our ability to judge real danger was impaired.” (Pg. 48) Later, he adds, “These days our culture of worry is a growing weed that feeds on manufactured as well as real pandemic dangers and threatens to become its own cult. Traditional religion may not be a match for it…” (Pg. 73) Still later, he adds, “Living in a climate of fear, we are becoming a society of hypochondriacs.” (Pg. 80)

He notes, “The swine flu scare helped foster cynicism and distrust of federal policy makers and health officials. But Joseph Califano… secretary of… Health, Education and Welfare under President Carter, continued to maintain that doctors had had no choice but to err on the side of caution, and should do so again if faced with the threat of another killer plague with the potential to kill millions.” (Pg. 103)

He recounts, “Back in March [2020]… I was glad then the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for hospital use [of hydroxychloroquine]… On top of its medical value, there was the usefulness of a drug you could rely on as a reassurance against the fear of being exposed to COVID… But then the bad news began to pour in. With President Trump championing the drug in early April, it became a third rail political issue, and studies… showed that the drug wasn’t effective against COVID, at least … when the patient was dying… the NIH and the WHO both stopped their clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine. It was the politics of fear all over again…” (Pg. 157-158) He adds, “I continued to hop the FDA and the NIH would reverse their course and continue to participate in clinical trials… I began to wonder if the lack of motivation wasn’t more tied to economics than science…” (Pg. 160)

He states, “The politics of fear and the power of science. Masks were right in the middle of both. On the science side, there was increasing evidence that masks… played a role in decreasing viral spread… A growing number of observational studies were also revealing that counties and states with mask mandates showed lower case numbers and lower viral transmissions. Unfortunately, fear attached itself to the situation and masks became a political hot potato, as well as a means to control people. While many were compliant, others rebelled and were deliberately non-compliant.” (Pg. 177)

He proposes, “It was imperative that Black and Latino people be on this priority list [for vaccines]. Not as a political statement to address our country’s history of unequal care for minorities… but because these groups had been infected with COVID-19 at three times the rate of white people, and have died nearly twice as frequently.” (Pg. 183)

He observes, “President Trump has definitive leadership qualities and a personal charm and charisma… but unfortunately he did not always express a unified message that would have inspired the bipartisan masses to automatically follow him during the terrible days of the COVID pandemic. He did play an effective role as Anti-Fear Monger-in-Chief throughout the spring… after it became clear that the coronavirus had already spread throughout communities … Dr. Fauci in particular began to support extensive lockdowns and make dire predictions, both of which strangled our economy, spread more fear and foreboding, and undermined the president’s more upbeat approach… Unfortunately, the friction and division between Trump and his advisors spread more fear. I tended to blame the advisors more for it because I felt it was their job to differ with the president in private meetings, not on television.” (Pg. 203-205)

Of Biden, he comments, “Biden projected strength and leadership, which was exactly what we needed. He talked about compassion and bringing us back from the darkness. This was what we needed to hear… During the Democratic National Convention, watching Biden speak, I could see the toughness and the courage that came from soldiering on after horrific tragedies… With this speech Biden was setting himself up as a fear leader for COVID.” (Pg. 207)

He concludes, “And so we waited and hoped for an effective vaccine to stem the tide of the virus and bring us up to herd immunity… One thing we had not learned was to distinguish between emotion-driven responses and careful reasoning… We certainly … should have learned that we are all … part of global health community. We can no longer think of an emerging contagion as a regional problem. It was deeply disappointing to me that we had used COVID fears as a launching pad for divisiveness… Political division was tied in to a misinformation campaign… Double blinded randomized controlled clinical trials were… supposedly the gold standard of science. Instead it was the politics of fear across the board…

“This was all driven home to me the day I interviewed President Trump… He appeared to me as a strong capable leader… Former Vice President Biden sounded like a healer… his speech… was nevertheless strong and projecting leadership, a treatment for fear. But the problem for me … was that he talked too quickly about national mandates and the potential for more lockdowns, which … were also sucking the soul of America… There was also the distinct possibility that the virus was mutating (or could mutate) into a less virulent form, which could help explain why the death and hospitalization rates were down… Taking the high road provided a vaccine not for the virus itself but for the fear it spawned.” (Pg. 217-220)

While Dr. Siegel is not the ‘worst’ voice out there (in 2008, he wrote ‘False Alarm: The Truth about the Epidemic of Fear,’ which presented many themes he revisited in this book), his insistence that people who recommend preventive measures are ‘fear mongers’ and ‘fear leaders’ tends to outweigh, for me, his more moderate and nuanced stances.

[Neil Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marc Siegel's book, Covid: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science, details the history of pandemics and the government's role in stirring up, or, better, assuaging people's fears about them. Since Siegel spent much space explaining the neurological physiology of trauma based fear, I gained much from the book as it applies to my life as a Christian.

Siegel finished his book some time in August, 2020; so that is where his analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic ends. (There are several obvious last-minute updates that must have been added at press-time since they are riddled with typos).

Seigel analyzed other social impacts that resulted from political action. For example, Siegel is critical of George W. Bush's handling of his second term campaign. The general message was, "We are vulnerable to terrorism. Whom do you most trust to handle the threat? Me or my opponent?" I personally think the message was correct but Siegel was critical of the tact of getting votes by scaring voters.

I gained most from this book from Siegel's explanation of how the brain works in its handling of trauma. The fear response kicks in well before the rational thoughts are able to pronounce the fear to be unwarranted. That is why there are triggers that bring old fears back to the surface. There is nothing that can be done about them. Once the fear is set, it is part of you. The response to old trauma never goes away.

That revelation really is comforting. Siegel did not go there; but I did. If a Christian is still suffering from somebody else's abuse--years after the abuse, and years after the abuser's "repentance,"--churches will often conclude that the lingering pain is evidence of failure to forgive.

Nope.

Victims of abuse are permanently damaged and no repentance or forgiveness will fix the wound.

That's a relief to me. I was victim of a case traumatic spiritual abuse about two years ago. The pain still resurfaces with some triggers. It turns out, that pain does not result from my failure to forgive. No. Trauma just works that way on the physical brain. From this perspective, I am comforted.

But back to the book.

Siegel believes that the better policy of handling a crisis is to try to recognize the real severity of the crisis and to communicate the concerns honestly, provide reasonable actions for people to do so that they feel like they are a part of the solution, and to try to be a voice of reassurance so that nobody panics or becomes terrified when such a response doesn't help anybody. Rather, terror unproductively tears down the physical body by raising the blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body weight. That advice is good coaching for leaders.

[Fred Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have listened to the doctor on television news programs and am aware of his medical analyses. I enjoy those, and that is why I bought the book. This book is very timely and helpful in understanding the impact of COVID 19 on the United States. The author provides over half the book to fear, which, as he explains, directs a lot of the pandemic response. I really liked the second half of the book and its detailed explanation of the pandemic, what took place, and how it all affected the United States people. I am not a medical person, and the book's level of detail was good for me. I also enjoyed the book.

[Mark Lickliter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was very balanced and helpful in analyzing how the government has used fear to control people while actual science and logic continue to be ignored in favor of the latest sensationalism. We'll probably never know the whole story with regards to covid. People will continue to believe what fits with what they already believed. It's like confirmation bias on steroids. The truth behind all of the sensationalism is usually more complex. This book aimed to demonstrate that reality.

[Amit GR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll read anything about the current hysteria so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Fox News doctor but I am hugely happily surprised. As a doctor myself, it’s good to hear reasonable persons with a functional thought process who have taken care of hysterics before put things into perspective. I also really enjoyed the personal experiences with patients before. Highly recommended

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of the book is about the brain and where fear comes from in our brains. The middle part is kind of a lot of history about past epidemics and "pandemics" that I totally missed! 2009 Swine flu? 1957 another flu?

"Speculation is not science and science is an ongoing series of observations not assertions that should be blindly adhered to."

The world is flat. "I don't know if the above quote is from that book, The World is Flat, as I am listening to this book and he just said that after the quote about science. But I did not like the quote because I am kind of sick of seeing this "Science is real" sign or "I follow the science."

The last 20% of the book is about COVID19. The book was published before the surges of the fall and winter in the US. His main point is that politics made handling the virus wisely and in a coordinated way in the US was pretty much impossible. He shared what he admitted was anecdotal about how his 96 year old father seemed to survive the virus because of hydrochloriquine. He was quick to admit there needed to be double blind studies for this to be a "for sure." But because of politics (the right thought it worked, the left did not), there was no study. He made the same point about plasma. Meanwhile the virus surged again. He was not negative toward Pres Trump or Sen Biden.

He told of a interview with Trump as well as lauded Biden's acceptance speech. He made it clear that fear has been doing a great deal of damage. He suggested masks were effective, maybe, to some extent...but many wore dirty masks that were causing more harm. Masks made people feel safe but likely were not fully protecting them. He was quick, and I appreciated this, to write like someone doing research and doctoral work....he did not claim truth but added the caveats, unlike many on the left and right now.

He said two important words missing from the painful process: respect and kindness. Isn't that the truth? On a macro level, politicians and pundits slammed each other. On a micro level, friends condemned each other for going on a trip, not wearing a mask outside. It has been ugly.

Everyone wants someone to blame. I just don't think it is that simple.

[DrAroosa Mughal · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Fox News medical analyst and the author of False Alarm comes a shocking exposé of the media’s coverage of the national pandemic that reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that limit our abilities to safely make decisions and protect our families in a world of uncertainty. Life for citizens of the developed world before the pandemic was safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence―but COVID-19 has stolen that security and our nation’s peace of mind.
Now there is a pandemic virus, as well as a crippling epidemic of fear sweeping America. Why? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we already lived in an artificially created culture of fear that was just waiting to be unleashed. In COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear―government, the media, and our own psyche. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, compounded now by the worst contagion of our lifetimes, he shows how fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts―often without our even realizing it. COVID shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against these crippling fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives even as we battle the pandemic itself.

[LAMONT D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there is still value in reading this book if you want to learn a little bit about the history of pandemics and how they spread. He also delves into the theory surrounding the topic of fear and how that can spread just as much if not more than a virus. My overall opinion is that the book was written a little too late and a little too early. Too early in that the Biden mandates and the whirlwind around vaccines had not happened yet. Too late in that we needed to have people shout to the mountain tops that this could happen and what we need to do to get ready besides a lot of fear mongering and madness. His conclusion was that we were not ready for the virus that came to us from China. Understatement for sure. He also states with confidence that the issue became extremely political. No argument there. He "trumps" himself several times by stating that he did not interrupt President Trump when he interviewed him. I guess that is something to be proud of since everyone wanted to crucify Trump and still do. At the end of the day, he appears to be balanced but for me he straddled the fence criticizing on one hand and then complimenting on the other. You really can't have it both ways.

[Bette Stanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure that I can say that I learned anything I didn’t already know, but some things were clarified for me. I respect Dr. Siegel, his experience, and his medical knowledge. On his FOX interviews, he has always provided data to support his statements. However, that was some of what I found lacking in this book. It was more the omission of addressing some of the studies and glaring holes in the common narrative. He talks a lot about the psychological effects of fear and how fear is controlling the narrative yet he doesn’t really present much data to counter the fear. I don’t know if that is because this book came out before he had the most recent studies. There is something that comes out daily, it seems. I was disappointed in the lack of counterclaims/data. The author seemed to only present studies/data that go along with his opinions. That isn't really scientific. There are many studies/data that counter things such as masks, the reliability of PCR tests, etc. By not addressing counter articles/data his credibility is slightly lowered. Other than that, I do think there is useful information to be gained in this book.

[pat brewster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great title, disappointing content

I had high hopes for this book as I enjoy hearing Dr. Siegel on TV. The title implied content that I wanted to learn more about. And I did gain a number of insights from the read. But it was an arduous read. The paragraphs don’t flow together well and there is a considerable amount of repetition. To make matters worse, it seems that there was little if any proof reading done before releasing the book. Grammatical errors, misspellings, and words out of sequence appear on practically every page. If the book were cleaned up to fix these errors I would give it a couple more stars.

[Nicole Bieri · Rating 1 out of 5]

In theory this could have been a good book (or maybe a better long form article). But it spent too many words saying how the media blows most things out of proportion and people are too fearful about things that will never effect them. The author was not sharing any new information or studies, but more his observations and opinions. There was also too many spelling and grammatical errors to count. This felt like a rushed fluff piece to say, “everyone stop worrying, Trump didn’t do that bad of job, and we handled this pandemic horribly.” Overall, do not recommend.

[Eric Prentice · Rating 2 out of 5]

The immense agitation experienced when coming across the authors blatantly dismissing of, or not understanding of social determinants to health is immensely unfortunate and especially at 90% into the book. Immediately DNF’d it. This is basic stuff and reckless to suggest that such findings through research is ridiculous. This is unforgivable. I have other gripes about this book but otherwise it was very informative until this point. I’m shocked and will definitely be writing about this in my medical anthro uni courses.

[Meggan V. Crowley]

good book. thought provoking. brings up lots of things to think about around covid.
a book about the mental illness and the fear around covid.

[Wynter Mortz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very educational account of COVID and all other viruses that have occurred throughout our history. Non-biased and explains well how fear has played a role in this pandemic.

[Susan Glynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and incite full