public health studies estimate hydroxychloroquine use was linked to at least 17,000 deaths worldwide, though the true toll is likely higher.
"linked to" and "likely higher". Was it also clear (at the time) what was and wasn't misinformation for COVID?
Yes,
I thought the medical community wasn't sure at the time.
The medical community wasn't sure at first, but data came in pretty quickly once it started being investigated. This is typical of science: you start out knowing nothing, you learn more and start knowing "maybe but we're not sure", and you keep on increasing your level of certainty. But too many people were dazzled by the early "maybe" and turned their ears off to avoid hearing the "but turns out not."
Hydroxychloroquine actually is a miracle drug. It's just not a miracle drug that cured COVID-19.
I hear that YouTube is restoring accounts for people who lost theirs due to COVID misinformation and Election misinformation NOW. I am sure those people had no lasting effects on their lives when their primary source of income was cut off
If their primary source of income was sucking money from credulous fools by touting quack cures that are actually dangerous, I am not going to cry about their "primary source of income" getting cut off.
I do worry about free speech, however.
I wish I had an answer to the question of how to stop the flow of misinformation without damaging free speech. But I don't.