Urged schools to stay closed — just not the ones his kids go to
A major proponent of keeping schools closed moved his family to Austria in the fall so his children could attend in-person learning.
Former Breitbart investigative journalist Jordan Schachtel first reported the news on March 9.
“Can now confirm: Eric Feigl-Ding, the chief COVID-19 panic salesman on social media, quietly moved his family to Austria in the Fall so that his kid could attend school in person,” Schachtel said on Twitter.
The College Fix reached out to Feigl-Ding via Twitter asking for comment on the allegations on Monday morning, but did not immediately receive a response.
Since-deleted tweets from Eric’s wife, Andrea, an immigrant from Austria, show her talking about moving the family to the European country.
Can now confirm: Eric Feigl-Ding, the chief COVID-19 panic salesman on social media, quietly moved his family to Austria in the Fall so that his kid could attend school in person.
Yet Feigl-Ding has been a relentless proponent for school closures here in the United States.
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) March 10, 2021
“Yet Feigl-Ding has been a relentless proponent for school closures here in the United States,” Schachtel said.
Feigl-Ding (above) rose to prominence on Twitter starting with a January 2020 tweet thread that referred to the possibility of COVID turning into a “thermonuclear pandemic level,” according to the Harvard student paper The Harvard Crimson. Feigl-Ding studied at Harvard and worked there.
The student paper called Feigl-Ding a “prophet” on COVID.
UK 🇬🇧 SCHOOL DRAMA:
Dec 14th: Schools threatened legal action if close.
Dec 22: SAGE Experts: schools need to close.
Jan: Boris Johnson: “Schools are safe”
12 hours later: “No schools are not”—closes.
(HT @BBCRosAtkins)pic.twitter.com/HWvLR2DFi3
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) January 14, 2021
“Feigl-Ding reportedly played a role in convincing schools to stay shut down in the DC metro. He then left w his wife & kid for Austria,” the journalist, who regularly writes about COVID-19 policies, said in a series of tweets.
Feigl-Ding also appeared in an ad for a super PAC that supported President Joe Biden’s candidacy. The ad labeled Feigl-Ding a “doctor” but he does not have a medical degree and is not a licensed physician.
Feigl-Ding has doctorates in epidemiology and nutrition. Feigl-Ding is also a former Democratic candidate for a Pennsylvania Congressional seat.
Here’s a group of doctors speaking out in support of Joe Biden in ad spot for the Future Forward PAC, a pro-Biden PAC backed by some major Silicon Valley names that’s spending big $$ on ad blitzes in the final days of the presidential election pic.twitter.com/TSbGo3fkDA
— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) October 20, 2020
“His academic research centered entirely around nutrition, diet, and exercise,” according to Schachtel.
The hypocrisy has drawn criticism from proponents of allowing kids to physically return to the classroom.
“Key policymakers and other prominent opponents of school reopenings are regularly facing criticism for living a double life — privately breaking lockdown rules and even arranging in-person learning for their own children,” conservative advocacy group Catholic Votes wrote in a recent blog post.
The group pointed to other recent examples of school closure proponents who send their own kids to in-person schools, often at private schools.
Berkeley teachers union leader Matt Meyer, for example, has been a proponent of keeping schools closed. However, Meyer has decided to send his own child to private, in-person preschool.
MORE: Teachers union leader vacations in Puerto Rico while warning of COVID risks
IMAGE: CGTN America/YouTube
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