Gript editor John McGuirk kindly featured Health Freedom Ireland in a recent article titled “Anti-mandatory-mask” group raises €22k online in hours".
We appreciate that Gript stayed true to their mission "to encourage and facilitate debate and published this article on a topic that is on top of everyone's minds right now.
The article contains a few factual mistakes which we have pointed out the the Gript team via email at 14:00 on Monday 17/08/2020.
We are publishing this email for transparency below and hope that Gript will correct these mistakes in their article which otherwise serves as a fantastic starting point for uncensored debate true to their stated goals.
Here is the email sent to the editorial team at Gript:
Hi John,
Email sent to news@gript.ie at 14:00 on 17/08/2020
Thank you for your coverage of the GoFundMe campaign by Tracey O’Mahony to address the Erosion of Fundamental Freedoms and your mention of the work of Health Freedom Ireland within this article.
We believe it is important that a discussion about the rights of the individual and the government response to the current crisis at large is happening and we see your piece as a contribution to this effort.We hope that many will read your article and that it sparks the healthy debate we are hoping to bring about.In this spirit we would like to point out 3 inaccuracies in your article with the ask to please correct these as below:
1. Health Freedom Ireland is not headed by Tracey O’Mahony. While we respect and support her work and are collaborating on a few initiatives, Tracey is not actually part of our group. Please correct this statement.
2. We wish it was true that we had already organised a number of protests but to date this is not the case. Our first protest was on the 25th of July at Custom House, our next protest will be on 22nd of August at the same place again. You can read up on it here: https://healthfreedomireland.com/time-to-speak-up-join-our-next-protest/ or in our press release: https://healthfreedomireland.com/hfi-press-release-protest-22-aug/
3. You are stating “It is also important to note that while the Government has passed legislation requiring the wearing of facemasks in a number of locations, there is no criminal penalty for not wearing a facemask, and you cannot be arrested or charged for failing to do so.” This is factually incorrect as Section 4, part 3 of SI 296 of 2020 states a penal provision. If you fail to comply you may be arrested and incur a fine of up to €2500 or 6 months in prison.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Health Freedom Ireland
We would furthermore point out that we at Health Freedom Ireland very much align with the views as presented on Gript's about page
As pointed out by Gript constructive opposition is often presented as extreme or backward, however "Does the Government have the right – or indeed the duty – to force those people to be vaccinated to protect everyone else and to help eradicate the virus? Or is that tyranny? It’s a legitimate debate, and it’s not far-right to raise the question. And judging by Health Freedom Ireland’s fundraising, it’s not just going to be a matter of concern for the fringes of society, either."
Well done Gript on facilitating a debate that needs to happen.
P.S. One point of curiosity: Why didn't Gript contact us prior to publishing this post (or even afterwards) for comment to start an actual conversation?
20
0
101
20
