Technology

"Big pharma" companies do have a potential interest in covering up the harms of medicines in their patent rosters. If it doesn't straight up kill their customers, it's less money they have to spend on R&D for less harmful treatments.

Not to imply random snake oil assholes selling ivermectin etc. don't have similar, worse interests. But no one in the space whatsoever is just immune from standing to gain from doing something bad without serious oversight from all angles. That includes vigorous and scientifically-minded public conversation about it - not just walled off to professionals. There's no magical formula here, you need public education and open information, to not only just have correct information but refute incorrect information. If you have this big walled garden around "The Truth" and delete everything else, well, we just lived through the consequence of that with COVID, it breeds distrust and pseudoscience.