As Reuters ‘Fact-Checked’ COVID Vaccine ‘Misinformation,’ Its CEO Also Sat on Pfizer’s Board

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters repeatedly fact-checked statements and articles that criticized COVID-19 vaccines — but not once did the news organization’s fact-checkers find fault with Pfizer, according to Paul D. Thacker, editor of The Disinformation Chronicle.

In an investigation released today, Thacker suggested why Reuters might have been quick to defend the vaccines. As it turns out, the former CEO of Reuters — who’s still on the board of its parent company, Thomson Reuters Foundation — has also been a board member of COVID-19 vaccine maker Pfizer since 2014. And as a board member, he was (and still is) required to own shares in Pfizer.

James C. Smith, also known as Jim Smith, served as CEO of Reuters from 2012 to 2020. Thacker described Smith’s dual roles with Reuters and Pfizer — and Reuters’ reporting on Pfizer and on criticism of the COVID-19 vaccines — as a conflict of interest.

'According to rules laid out by Pfizer, James ‘Jim’ Smith’s interests equals Pfizer’s interests,' Thacker wrote...

'Reuters Fact Check was so painfully biased in favour of Pfizer and other manufacturers that I was forced to look into this. That’s when I uncovered the ties between Reuters leadership and Pfizer’s board,' Thacker said...

Thacker also cited an investigation he published in March, finding that Reuters fact-checkers repeatedly made scientifically false statements about the COVID-19 vaccines...

In 2021, Reuters announced collaborations with Facebook and Twitter — now known as X — to 'fact check' social media posts and fight the spread of 'misinformation,' without disclosing its ties to Pfizer or providing any criteria for defining 'misinformation.'"