An Australian doctor, Dr. Jereth Kok, was suspended for sharing Christian views and satire on social media, not for medical misconduct….
An Australian doctor, Dr. Jereth Kok, was suspended for sharing Christian views and satire on social media, not for medical mistakes. His beliefs about marriage, gender, and COVID were seen as offensive, leading to a 7-year ban. The case raises concerns about free speech and religious expression being punished in professional settings.
🚨 An Aussie doctor has been found guilty of professional misconduct.
Not for harming patients.
But for posting Christian views, including memes & satire from @TheBabylonBee, on social media.
Yes, that can now cost you your medical licence in Australia.
Meet Dr Jereth Kok
Jereth is now indefinitely suspended from medical practice because his beliefs were declared too offensive.
What beliefs?
— Marriage is between a man and a woman
— Children deserve a mum and a dad
— “Gender-affirming care” harms minors
— Lockdowns and mandates went too far
The Tribunal didn’t argue he was medically incompetent.
He had zero patient complaints. No malpractice in 15 years.
Yet 54 social media posts — many of them humorous, most shared in non-public mode — were enough to brand him “unfit” to practice medicine in Australia.
Among his crimes:
– Sharing 2 @TheBabylonBee memes
– Quoting @Advo_Katy on child-rearing
– Posting a @SpectatorOz op-ed by @MoiraDeemingMP
– Promoting the Ezekiel Declaration
– Linking to an @ACLobby open letter
– Writing an article for @EternityNews
The message from the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is loud and clear:
You may no longer be a doctor in Australia if your conscience, faith, or moral beliefs conflict with progressive ideology — even outside the clinic.
Dr Kok has spent the last 7 years barred from practising medicine during his drawn-out disciplinary case.
In that time, he had to retrain in another career just to support his wife and young kids.
The ruling only came down last week.
The Tribunal acknowledged his posts weren’t directed at patients.
They occurred outside the clinic.
Still, he was declared unfit to practise medicine.
The Tribunal ruled that his conservative beliefs, even shared to a limited audience, violated professional standards.
Dr Kok’s legal team argued his commentary was protected by:
— Common law right to free speech
— Implied freedom of political communication
— The Victorian Charter of Human Rights
The Tribunal disagreed.
They ruled it the most serious breach possible: professional misconduct.
Over the next string of tweets, I’ll share examples of the actual posts that were cited in the ruling.
These weren’t hate-filled rants.
They were often thoughtful, sometimes funny, and always driven by conviction and faith.
You decide if they justify career-ending punishment.
Post #1
Dr Kok shared a Babylon Bee satire article:
“Congressional Prayer Lasts Two Days As Democrat Includes All 5,787 Genders”
The Tribunal ruled it “failed to respect gender diversity” and was “derogatory to LGBTQI+ persons”.
Congressional Prayer Lasts Two Days As Democrat Includes All 5,787 Genders https://t.co/RQjxrdMVbV
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 5, 2023
Post #2
Another Babylon Bee spoof:
“Instead of Traditional Warfare, Chinese Military Will Now Be Trained To Shout Wrong Pronouns At American Troops”
Tribunal: “Belittled and trivialised the use of personal pronouns.”
Instead Of Traditional Warfare, Chinese Military Will Now Be Trained To Shout Wrong Pronouns At American Troops https://t.co/5ZbPfXhof9
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 20, 2023
Post #3
Dr Kok reposted the below quote from Katy Faust, who grew up in a same-sex household, and argued that kids deserve two opposite-sex parents.
Tribunal: “Denigrating, demeaning, disrespectful and derogatory to LGBTQI+ community.”
You want a healthy marriage culture: each child has a same-sex parent showing them the adult they should become & an opposite sex parent showing what to look for in a SO. Children observe healthy communication, conflict resolution and daily love & respect. Both cheap & effective. https://t.co/ClUwMfEzNW
— Katy Faust (@Advo_Katy) December 26, 2020
Post #4
In the comments section on a Christian blog, he argued that same-sex attraction can be addressed with therapy.
Tribunal: These views are “inconsistent with the practitioner being a fit and proper person to hold registration in the profession”.
Post #5
Dr Kok reposted a Spectator Australia article by MP Moira Deeming on gender ideology in schools.
The Tribunal said its contents showed a lack of “professionalism and courtesy” to other medical practitioners.
Post #6
He shared the Australian Christian Lobby’s open letter to Dan Andrews opposing Victoria’s “conversion therapy” bill.
Tribunal: “Denigrating to LGBTQI+ persons.”
Post #7
In an article for Eternity News, Dr Kok questioned the safety and ethics of “gender-affirming care”.
VCAT rejected his analogy between gender dysphoria and conditions like anorexia as unprofessional and unfit for a medical practitioner.
Post #8
He shared the COVID meme below.
The Tribunal ruled it “denigrates, demeans and slurs of persons that accepted and considered it right to follow public health orders and likened them to how a Roman Emperor would consider a defeated gladiator”.
Post #9
Dr Kok shared the image below.
The Tribunal found that this post “implies that the COVID-19 vaccines were not safe and effective, drew on and legitimised antivaccination and vaccine hesitancy rhetoric and contained misleading information regarding vaccines.”
Post #10
He wrote:
“2020 will be remembered as the year when the facemask replaced the tinfoil-hat as a symbol of paranoid hysteria”
Tribunal: “denigrates, demeans and slurs” mask-wearers.
Post #11
He shared the image below.
Tribunal: The post “denigrates, demeans and slurs persons that accepted and considered it right to follow public health orders as it indicated that they were equivalent to the German public who allowed the Nazi [sic] to rise to power.”
Post #12
Dr Kok signed and shared the Ezekiel Declaration @CaldronPool, urging then-PM Scott Morrison to allow churches to stay open during lockdowns.
Tribunal: Undermines health advice. Minimises the risks of the virus.
Post #13
Dr Kok shared an article written by me at @TheCanDec (which has also been scrubbed from Google’s search index).
Tribunal: “minimised the very real risk of the hospital system being overwhelmed and… understates the risks of the virus and benefits of the vaccine.”
There’s no question:
Dr Kok’s views are conservative.
And his tone, at times, was strong.
But he engaged with real issues — many still under global debate.
The response?
A near-decade-long investigation and the loss of his profession.
What’s at stake is more than Jereth’s career.
It’s whether Christians can stay in regulated professions without silencing their beliefs.
Dr Kok’s sanctions will be decided in early 2026.
If appealed, his case could last until 2028, a full decade after the original complaint.
For a much more in-depth analysis of Dr Jereth Kok’s case, follow the link below:
Dr Jereth Kok Guilty of Professional Misconduct for Social Media Posts, Tribunal Rules