Stanford is distancing itself from Trump's controversial coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas


Stanford University appears to be trying to distance itself from Dr. Scott Atlas, President Trump's coronavirus adviser and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute. Atlas, a neuroradiologist, is known for his controversial view that the U.S. should not rely on restrictive methods to curb the virus' spread, but rather naturally achieve herd immunity. On Tuesday night, Stanford addressed questions about the university's relationship with Atlas, stating that Atlas' views are inconsistent with the school's approach. "We support using masks, social distancing, and conducting surveillance and diagnostic testing," the university said in a press release.
But Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall argues that Atlas is far from the only person affiliated with Stanford and the Hoover Institute to espouse controversial ideas or produce questionable studies about the pandemic. Marshall, in fact, thinks the university has been "a hotspot" of COVID-19 misinformation since the early stages of the crisis.
Last week, in a Twitter thread, Marshall pointed to a now-discredited and potentially unethical antibody study; a letter known as The Great Barrington Declaration, which takes an anti-lockdown stance; a prediction that only 500 people in the U.S. would die from COVID-19; and even epidemiology expert John Ionniadis' early estimates that fell short of the virus' eventual toll. All of those cases had ties to Stanford and Hoover, Marshall noted. Read the full thread here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
5 tips for maintaining your gut microbiome's health
The Week Recommends A healthy gut is all the rage in wellness circles
-
Trump's super-charged pardon push raises eyebrows and concerns
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Never shy about using his pardon ability for political leverage, Trump's spate of amnesty announcements suggests the White House is taking things to a new level
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
India strikes Pakistan as tensions mount in Kashmir
speed read Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it an 'act of war'