People were literally buying horse dewormer when their doctors wouldn't prescribe it for them. "Influencers" were selling it. So the media were being accurate. To the extent that this made people look dumb, the intent was mostly to shame them into trying something more effective.
> the intent was mostly to shame them
Yeah I don’t like news that does that, as opposed to giving the best information.
You dropped my words "into trying something more effective". Steering people into treatments found to be more effective is, precisely, giving people the best available information. Ivermectin is great if you have a parasitic infection. It doesn't help against viral infections.
Telling them which treatment is more effective is different than shaming, and also different than making up a misleading name like “horse dewormer”.