In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, the highly publicized professor Didier Raoult was reportedly poached by the University of Beijing, in order to continue his work abroad. This information, revealed by the magazine Entreprendre this Wednesday, could have formed one more stone to add to the legend that now surrounds the very popular Marseille virologist ... if it had not been completely wrong.
The media was trapped by the malicious author of a mail pretending to be Didier Raoult, whom he sent directly to the CEO of the Lafont press-Entreprendre press group, Robert Lafont, promising him the "first" of this revelation.
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"The address used is not that of Professor Raoult", insists this Wednesday with the Parisian, the IHU Méditerranée Infection, of which Didier Raoult is the director. And the IHU, which completely denies this departure, adds that the infectiologist "was very amused" to learn his transfer in Asia through the press.
An infectious disease specialist who ignores the critics
Who is behind this bad joke and why? Difficult to know yet, replies the IHU, whose press service is besieged by phone calls from journalists, since the publication of the article in Entreprendre. The latter, now offline, explained that the virologist had chosen to join the highly regarded Peking University Health Science Center (PUHSC) by "the end of the summer", because of the numerous attacks against him , particularly related to its tests on hydroxychloroquine, as a remedy for Covid-19.
A step that could have challenged, while in a recent interview given to the magazine Paris Match, the interested party hammered not to give voice to the chapter to his detractors - multiple in the medical profession and on social networks -, which he qualified for the latter, "children", "with a level of knowledge that is too low".
Information posted on Twitter
In the malicious email, of which the magazine Entreprendre published the whole, the false Didier Raoult assured that it "has become very complicated to undertake research projects in the field of health in France, the sector being plagued by quarrels partisan, sprawling bureaucracy and politically correct. "
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Several internet users have fallen into the trap, including front-line MEP Gilbert Collard who hastened to castigate, on Twitter, a "country, a technocratic and administrative monstrosity for friends, (who) is a talent repellent!" " "By dint of bothering talents, it should come as no surprise that they say" shit "! He also rebelled, before coming back to his words in a following tweet, after having understood that he had relayed false information.
#Raoult leaves #France to join #China: this country, a technocratic and administrative monstrosity for friends, is a talent repellent! By dint of bothering talents, it is not surprising that they say "shit"! # Covid19 #Chloroquinehttps: //t.co/puPV904SRB pic.twitter.com/hsVVGbsWRj
- Gilbert Collard (@GilbertCollard) May 20, 2020It will obviously take a lot more for the virologist with nearly 530,000 subscribers on Twitter to slam the door of the IHU and abandon his multiple research works carried out in France.