The coronavirus outbreak has laid bare not only the deficiencies of the federal government, but it has destroyed also whatever remained of the facade of expertise and credibility that the pundit class had built for itself.

From the opinion sections of the New York Times to the Los Angeles Times, those who make up the ranks of America’s elite commentariat have failed utterly to provide audiences with measured and well-researched information regarding the COVID-19 disease. They have chosen instead to indulge in their worst, shallowest inclinations, spreading panic, ignorance, and fear almost as quickly as the infection itself.