During Princeton Class Day speech, Dr. Fauci warns about 'the normalization of untruths'

While delivering a speech during Princeton University's 2022 Class Day on Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned against accepting "the normalization of untruths."

"Sadly, elements of our society have grown increasingly inured to a cacophony of falsehoods and lies that often stand largely unchallenged, ominously leading to ... acceptance of what I call the normalization of untruths. We see this happen daily with falsehoods propagated through a range of information platforms by a spectrum of people, including, sad to say, certain elected officials in positions of power," Fauci said.

"If you take away nothing else from what I say today, I appeal to you, please remember this: It is our collective responsibility not to shrug our shoulders and sink to a tacit acceptance of the normalization of untruths. Because if we do, lies become dominant and reality is distrorted, and then truth means nothing, integrity means nothing, and facts means nothing. This is how a society deteriorates into a way of life where veracity becomes subservient to propaganda, rather than being upheld as our guiding principle," he declared.

Dr. Anthony Fauci addresses Princeton's graduating Class of 2022 at Class Day ceremonyyoutu.be

Fauci is the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden and has spent well over three decades as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He has been a prominent public health figure throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

There have been around one million COVID-19 deaths so far in the U.S. — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention places the figure a bit under the one million mark, while the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center places the death count above one million.

"It's estimated that if people had been vaccinated to a much greater extent right now that vaccines would've avoided at least a quarter of those deaths, namely about 250,000," Fauci said earlier this month.

While many people have opted to get vaccinated and boosted, others have declined to do so — and many individuals who have chosen to get the shots have still tested positive for COVID-19.

"COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and even dying—especially people who are boosted," the CDC website states.