ABC Faces Lawsuit Over "Dr. Odyssey" Episode Depicting Remdesivir as an Answer to Prayers

ABC is currently navigating through two significant legal battles that have placed the network under intense scrutiny. The latest claims the network promoted Remdesivir as an answer to prayers.

ABC Under Fire for Remdesivir Promotion in "Dr. Odyssey"

ABC, Inc., is grappling with significant legal challenges, spotlighting issues of media responsibility and public health ethics. While the network recently resolved a defamation lawsuit, it now faces a new and potentially more damaging controversy over the portrayal of Remdesivir/Veklury® in their television series, "Dr. Odyssey."

Remdesivir Controversy:

A group of attorneys, representing surviving family members and former patients who suffered issues due to treatment, has issued a demand letter to ABC, accusing the network of misleading viewers by promoting Remdesivir as an answer to prayers for a COVID-19 cure. The allegations are severe:

• Misleading Information: The legal team claims that ABC's portrayal will lead to patients being coerced or defrauded into taking the drug under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) without understanding its risks, including severe side effects like kidney and liver damage, potentially leading to death.

• WHO's Recommendation: This accusation is particularly poignant following the November 2020 World Health Organization (WHO) panel's recommendation against using Remdesivir for hospitalized COVID-19 patients due to no evidence of improved survival rates.

• Legal and Ethical Violations: The attorneys argue ABC's actions might breach multiple federal laws on fraud, misinformation, and ethical standards of informed consent.

• Nuremberg code violations: In a clarifying statement to Broken Truth, the attorneys representing remdesivir victims stated: “the actual experimentations are what is a violation of the code. What abc is doing may make them complicit in those experiments.”

• Possible FCC Sponsored Content Violations The attorneys also included the FCC in their complaint, possibly indicating potential FCC violations under 47 U.S.C. § 508 and § 317 regarding undisclosed sponsorships or payments for content.

Demands on ABC:

To mitigate further legal action, the attorneys demand that ABC:

• Remove Content: Edit or remove all mentions of Remdesivir from "Dr. Odyssey."

• Financial Reparations: Return any profits from promoting Remdesivir.

• Transparency: Disclose all agreements related to the drug's promotion.

• Victim Compensation: Establish funds for those harmed by the drug after being influenced by the show.

• Public Apology: Issue an apology across all ABC networks, acknowledging it could mislead viewers and reveal any undisclosed sponsorships.

Legal Threats:

ABC has until December 31, 2024, to comply, or the attorneys will file a lawsuit covering an array of charges from fraud to human rights violations, intending to delve into ABC's financial relationships with pharmaceutical entities.

Abc Disney Rem Demand Official

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Broader Implications:

This case not only puts ABC's practices under scrutiny but also raises significant questions about the ethical promotion of medical treatments, the accuracy of health information in media, and the potential for media to influence public health decisions. The outcome of this legal challenge could set new precedents for how health crises are reported and managed in media content, emphasizing the need for transparency, accuracy, and ethical responsibility.

As shown in this excerpt of our award-winning documentary ‘Epidemic of Fraud’, there were significant allegations of NIH bias towards Remdesivir over other, cheaper and more proven medications.

“The View” Legal Statements

The attorney’s request for public apology is not unheard of. ABC network has begun to curtail the more egregious, false statements of some of its talent. In the past few weeks, the hosts of "The View" have been compelled to issue several on-air legal statements to retract or clarify comments made during their discussions, particularly concerning allegations against President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks. These legal notes included clarifications regarding Matt Gaetz, who has denied allegations of sexual misconduct with no charges filed after a DOJ investigation; Pete Hegseth, denying any wrongdoing and settling a lawsuit to avoid baseless claims; and Pam Bondi, along with Trump, denying any quid pro quo involving donations and legal actions against Trump University. The frequency of these disclaimers has led to light-hearted comments from the hosts about renaming the show "The Legal Note," highlighting a pattern of having to walk back or clarify statements to avoid legal repercussions.

Jimmy Kimmel’s Promotion of COVID-19 Vaccines

Jimmy Kimmel, abc’s late night host, has been a significant vocal proponent of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 offerings, often using his platform to espouse the controversial MRNA products.

Kimmel’s promotions have occasionally landed him in hot water after suggesting that hospitals should deny care for those who were skeptical of the new products which the FDA admitted could cause myocarditis in teen males.

FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine Press Release Aug 23, 2021

Watch our interview now with Ernest Ramirez whose son died days after getting his COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

FCC Rules on Undisclosed Sponsored Content

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has strict regulations regarding the disclosure of sponsored content to ensure transparency and prevent deceptive practices in broadcasting. According to FCC rules, if any matter (programming or content) aired on radio, television, or cable is sponsored, paid for, or furnished, either in whole or in part, broadcasters must announce this sponsorship at the time of the broadcast. This is mandated by Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 and further detailed in 47 CFR § 73.1212. The announcement must clearly identify the sponsor, emphasizing that the content was provided in exchange for "money, services, or other valuable consideration." This rule applies to both direct monetary exchanges and any form of compensation, including the provision of goods or services. Non-compliance can lead to severe penalties, including fines up to $10,000 per violation or imprisonment for up to one year, as failure to disclose is considered "payola." Furthermore, broadcasters are required to exercise "reasonable diligence" to ascertain sponsorship details from employees or others involved with the content. These regulations are designed to protect consumers by ensuring they are aware when content they consume is influenced by external financial interests.

While ABC network is not directly governed by these FCC rules, Disney owns a significant number of tv stations that could be in considered in violation of these FCC rules.

A request for statement from Disney/ABC’s legal has not been answered.

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company.

Dr. Odyssey is produced by Ryan Murphy Television, Scratchpad and 20th Television.

The Nuremberg Code

The Nuremberg Code is a set of ethical research principles for human experimentation that were established in the aftermath of the Nuremberg Trials at the end of World War II. These trials addressed the atrocities committed by Nazi doctors who conducted inhumane experiments on prisoners. The Code was developed to prevent such abuses in the future and to ensure ethical standards in medical research. Here are the key points of the Nuremberg Code:

1. Voluntary Consent: The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved to make an understanding and enlightened decision.

2. Fruitful Results: The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.

3. Prior Animal Experimentation: The experiment should be based on the results of animal experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study, so that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.

4. Avoidance of Unnecessary Suffering: The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.

5. No A priori Reason for Death or Disabling Injury: No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as subjects.

6. Risk vs. Humanitarian Importance: The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.

7. Proper Preparations and Facilities: Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.

8. Scientifically Qualified Persons: The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the experiment.

9. Freedom to Withdraw: During the course of the experiment, the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end if he or she has reached the physical or mental state where continuation seems to him or her to be impossible.

10. Termination of Experiment: The experiment must be ready to be terminated by the investigator if he or she has probable cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill and careful judgment required of him or her, that a continuation of the experiment is likely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.

The Nuremberg Code has been influential in shaping subsequent ethical codes like the Declaration of Helsinki and has laid foundational principles for modern medical ethics, particularly the concept of informed consent.

Disclosure: Over the last 20 years I have worked with and had personal friendships with both complainants and representatives of disney / abc and abc cable networks. Parts of this story were written by Grok.