Image collated from Kelly Brogan MD Facebook Posts.

In April 2020, in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, Kelly Brogan went from a self-described Holistic Psychiatrist to the self-appointed leader of COVID-19 denialism.

I knew very little about Brogan before COVID-19. Years ago, upon reading that she believes ‘Depression is a gift’, I dismissed her as one of ‘the wealthy white women of wellness’. The ones that think we’re self-healing entities. The ones that that look ultra-spiritual in their promo shots. The ones that profit from ableism and medical gaslighting. As I have Narcolepsy and a Science degree, they are the ones I try to ignore.

In April 2020 I saw another Kelly Brogan post. In it, the Holistic Psychiatrist seemed to deny the existence of COVID-19. As a NY certified, Ivy League educated MD, such denial seemed utterly absurd. So, I didn’t ignore her. I looked into what she was saying to her 125,000+ followers.

What I saw was bizarre.

Kelly Brogan presents COVID-19 denialist theories that can be loosely grouped into five, somewhat inconsistent, themes:

1. Germ Theory has never been proven. Therefore, germs aren’t real. Thus COVID-19 cannot exist. This is all a big lie.

2. COVID-19 does exist, but it’s not as bad as they say. All deaths are being falsely attributed to COVID-19 in an effort to incite panic.

3. COVID-19 exists. And it’s bad. But it was created by Bill Gates as either part of a eugenics program or as a way to force us to get vaccinated with micro-chips.

4. COVID-19 exists and it may or may not be bad. Either way, the government is using the virus as a way to control the population and reduce our bodily autonomy and freedom.

5. Only unhealthy people get COVID-19. If you choose to be unhealthy then you can’t expect society to protect you. We should not risk the economy to protect sick people.

The ‘evidence’ that Brogan cites in support of her COVID-19 claims is at best a bit dodgy and at worst downright deceptive.

Germs aren’t real.

Support for Brogan’s first theme comes from a debate in the 1800s between Pasteur and his lesser known adversary, Béchamp. Since the 1800s, an abundance of evidence has proven that germs really do exist. You can even see them under a microscope. But Brogan and many of her followers simply don’t believe it.

Brogan favours an obscure theory called German New Medicine. This is not, as the name suggests, emerging insights from Germany. It is simply a revival of the work of Ryke Geerd Hamer, an ex-physician who claimed that he could cure cancer. He couldn’t. Hamer was imprisoned multiple times for malpractice linked to patient deaths.

Hamer also apparently believed that modern medicine was a Jewish conspiracy designed to decimate non-Jews. He argued that all illness had psychosomatic origins, and like Brogan, believed that modern medicine is never actually needed. Notably, Hamer reportedly sought conventional medical treatment when his methods failed to treat his own cancer. Of course.

If Brogan and her followers believe that germs aren’t real, they must also believe that COVID-19 is neither real nor contagious. Presumably they dismiss even basic public health advice like wash your hands, practice social distancing and self-isolate if you are unwell. In doing so they risk not only their own health but also that of their families and communities.

Doctors are liars.

Onto Brogan’s second theme. Now ignore that the virus isn’t supposed to exist at all and believe that COVID-19 is simply not as bad as reported. This claim is supported by some self-made memes, statistics that conveniently end in March and a rather dull church presentation by a gun-loving local GP in a lab coat. There are also links to a few dubious doctors that have previously joined Brogan on the HIV denialism and anti-vaccination bandwagons.

In order to believe Brogan’s claim that numbers are vastly exaggerated you would have to accept that medical health professionals around the world are misreporting the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19. You would also have to believe that they are incompetent, manipulated or lying — perhaps all three.

Despite being bombarded with internationally sourced evidence, statistics refuting such claims and challenging such inferences, Brogan and a few of her dedicated ‘top fans’ staunchly maintain their position. They reject sources, they deny validity and question the integrity of almost anything put in front of them.

Brogan and those staunch followers appear to genuinely believe that they have special insights. That only they know ‘the truth’. This is not new. It’s common among conspiracists. Claims that you have special insight into who killed Kennedy or that Elvis lives are relatively inconsequential, but claims that you know COVID-19 is entirely safe or no worse than the flu can have deadly consequences.

As the family of John W. McDaniel of Ohio now know.

Bill did it.

The third theme is so incongruent that I can barely make sense of it. Basically, Bill Gates is the bad guy and Brogan and her ilk are the good guys. They are there to shine the light on Gates’ intent to kill people with his man-made virus while he somehow simultaneously controls them with his micro-chip filled vaccine, which may or not be controlled by 5G. This one conveniently taps into the existing anti-vaccination movement, of which Brogan is a member.

The ‘evidence’ comes in the form of memes featuring photos of Bill Gates, edited YouTubes of Bill Gates and people talking in YouTubes about Bill Gates. In recent days, some of Brogan’s more passionate top fans have even changed their profile pictures to portraits of Bill Gates. It seems that this convoluted chaos was lifted from Q forums in order to add fuel to an already flaming conspiracist fire.

The Bill Gates conspiracy theme is entirely US-centric and ignores the fact that COVID-19 is a global pandemic involving the work of countless international agencies. This does not dissuade the believers though. Believing the Gates conspiracy seems easier than believing nature has created a virus that can kill us. Especially for those in the wellness industry that have built their brand on claims that nature is loving and healing.

By pointing her finger at an easily identified enemy, Brogan is able to avoid confronting an even harsher reality. One that not only threatens her business model, but one threatens the entire way that humans occupy the planet. Focusing on a central bad guy diverts attention away from real, but complex, social problems. Problems that need real, but complex, social solutions. Solutions that Brogan does not offer.

Not my Doctor!

The third and fourth themes are further contradictions. Whilst the third believes that Bill Gates controls the world, the fourth suggests that the US Government does. And that the US government wants to control us. Except for Trump, some of Brogan’s following really like Donald Trump.

The appeal to First Amendment rights taps into a fervent, existing supporter base in the US, so it’s no surprise that it’s found its way into COVID-19 denialism. Where the majority see a combined effort to protect us all (especially the most vulnerable amongst us) a very vocal minority see an infringement on individual rights and freedom.

Brogan creates catch-phrase memes like ‘I DO NOT CONSENT’ and ‘THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT MY DOCTOR’ and ‘I question the mainstream medical narrative’. She also tries to align her message with renowned anti-establishment thinkers by sharing quotes from Ghandi, Benjamin Franklin, John Steinbeck and even a clip of George Carlin. Many are quick to point out that not only are their words used out of context, they have sometimes even been changed. Others note that those quoted would be more likely to oppose Brogan’s cause than support it.

It seems that Brogan is not content with being just a part of the aforementioned vocal minority — she wants to be their leader. Initially encouraging followers to simply ignore current public advice, Brogan and her husband Sayer Ji are now collecting names and encouraging protests.

Protests. In person. In a pandemic.

We are yet to see images of Brogan at one of those protests. Of course.

Deserve to die.

The fifth theme most resembles the Kelly Brogan that I read about years ago. The Kelly Brogan that believes that ‘depression is a gift’ and that being unwell is a choice. This pandemic has revealed a darker message underlying what I had previously dismissed as privileged nonsense. The message that if you are unwell and you get COVID-19, well… it’s your own fault and you shouldn’t expect society to protect you. Supporters declare that we should not use social isolation measures to protect vulnerable citizens. Their death is on them.

This theme is linked to Brogan’s Germ Theory denial. Preferring the long-disregarded work of Béchamp and Terrain Theory, believers maintain that if you take good enough care of yourself you are unable to get sick. This denies the existence of anyone that was born with a condition, inherited a predisposition, contracted an illness or was involved in an accident. It also denies the inherent value of anyone at risk.

Brogan’s belief is neither kind nor true. Healthy people are not immune from COVID-19. Even really, really healthy people are not immortal beings unable to be affected by exterior entities. Early reports that only the elderly or immune-compromised were vulnerable led to clusters among some younger age groups. Presumably because they failed to practice good hygiene, social distancing or self-isolation. Brogan’s claims create a false sense of safety that puts even her healthiest followers at risk.

Presumably encouraged by Brogan’s frequent assertion that ‘medicine is a personal belief system’ and her declaration that we are ‘already safe, already powerful, already healed’, responses to her COVID-19 posts often reek of victim-blaming. Some commenters proudly declare a horrifying lack of compassion for anyone affected by COVID-19. These messages can have devastating effects on both the physical and mental health of those at risk. The former by ignoring protective health measures, the latter by devaluing them as human beings.

Join the club.

Brogan’s COVID-19 denialism is interspersed with self-promotion and sales pitches. I get it. Her page is essentially her marketplace. Brogan is a psychiatrist that built her career on denigrating existing medical services and then selling an alternative. Many of Brogan’s top fans respond to her posts with unprompted tales of how the medical system has failed them and how they found her at a time of desperation. She sells them hope-filled alternatives in the form of books, a $750 online chat room, and $4,497 starting price for one-on-one sessions with Brogan herself. Refunds apparently require a non-disclosure-agreement.

Brogan’s marketplace is filled with both eager and vulnerable buyers. Some of her posts are greeted with praise and adulation “Yes!!!” “PRIESTESS!” “YOU are a BEAUTIFUL, PRECIOUS, PERFECT being” “AMEN!” “Earth Angel” “Love You” “Thank you Kelly!” and a whole lot of prayer hands, praise hands, hearts and starburst emojis. Outsider challenges to Brogan’s message are typically greeted by a chorus of ‘sheeple’, ‘big pharma shill’, ‘do your research’, ‘get off her page’ and the old faithful ‘troll’.

Brogan is now selling a new product to her eager and vulnerable market: membership to the COVID-19 denialist club. It’s a product made from fear and distrust, anger and divisiveness. It’s a product that could kill people. It could even kill her consumers. Kelly Brogan doesn’t seem to care.

As Brogan’s product has veered from hope to fear, some of her followers have begun to express their concerns. The echoes in her chamber are fading. A lot unfollow. Some beg her to stop. A few suggest she ‘stay in her lane’. Others ask for positive support not conspiracist rants. Several question why a psychiatrist is claiming to know more than epidemiologists. Many suggest she volunteer at the COVID-19 frontline and report back.

Despite declining support and evidence to the contrary, Brogan continues to sell COVID-19 denialism. She continues to declare the importance of her ‘own truth’ and individual rights over actual truth and social responsibility. Even if it costs lives.

Despite all of this, and despite undermining the work of millions of medical professionals around the world, Kelly Brogan continues to use the letters MD at the end of her name.