TFTC: A Bitcoin Podcast #696: How Peer Review Became a Weapon with Jessica Rose & Kevin McKernan
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Dec 20, 2025 In this discussion, Jessica Rose, an immunologist focused on vaccine safety, and Kevin McKernan, a molecular biologist and entrepreneur, dive into the controversial world of vaccine research and peer review. They reveal coordinated smear campaigns aimed at discrediting their findings and explore the corrupt peer review system that silences uncomfortable science. The duo advocates for decentralized publishing using Bitcoin and Nostr to ensure research remains censorship-resistant, while also addressing the alarming implications of gain-of-function research and vaccine-related health concerns.
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Peer Review As A Political Weapon
- The peer review system has been weaponized to suppress inconvenient science via coordinated smear networks.
- Kevin McKernan and Jessica Rose say pharma-funded actors use opaque reviews and leaks to stall and discredit papers.
Leaked Reviewer And ChatGPT Hallucinations
- Kevin McKernan describes receiving defamatory reviewer leaks and fabricated ChatGPT complaints that triggered an investigation.
- He traced a leaked reviewer to a university linked to vaccine funding and exposed conflicts of interest.
Selective Censorship Patterns
- Retraction and smear networks selectively target papers that challenge mainstream narratives.
- Jessica Rose and Kevin show these groups break editorial rules and selectively leak critiques to silence dissenting work.