A few weeks ago Forbes published an article by teacher and Columbia University Ph.D student Zack Ringelstein, warning about the harms of mask mandates for kids:

"Masks and social distancing induce trauma and trauma at a young age is developmentally dangerous, especially for children who are experiencing trauma in other parts of their lives."

In the essay, Ringelstein also argued that "children in masks who are socially distanced are more likely to lead a sedentary lifestyle at school and home, and therefore are also more likely to become both obese and depressed" and that "children in masks are also likely to miss out on critical language development, another fundamental area of growth in early years."

It was a bracing article, notable for its unvarnished assertions about school mask mandates at a time when questioning those mandates is professionally and personally risky.

It would appear that Forbes belatedly decided the same thing, because as of Wednesday, the article is... gone.

Forbes claims that the article itself is "no longer active." The site, meanwhile, removed the article from Ringelstein's author page, suggesting that it has officially purged it from its archives.

Such is life under COVID. Forbes's motto is "Change the World." The world is certainly a changed place after the past year and a half.

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