Category: Antivaccine nonsense

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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine

Elon Musk amplifies dubious claims of “spasms” and “seizures” after COVID-19 vaccines

COVID misinformation seizures spasms

Thanks to Elon Musk, two-year-old videos showing people claiming to have “seizures” and “spasms” due to #CovidVaccines have resurfaced and gone viral. Antivaxxers are partying like it’s 2009—or 2021.

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Announcements Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Movies

Sign up for a virtual screening of “Virulent: The Vaccine War”

Virulent
Virulent: The Vaccine War.

Science-Based Medicine is hosting a virtual screening of Virulent: The Vaccine War. Get your virtual ticket to stream it and be part of the Q&A with the filmmakers hosted by Drs. Gorski and Novella on Jan. 29?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

When “died suddenly” comes for a colleague and friend

Dr. Harriet Hall
Dr. Harriet Hall (with friend) at The Amazing Meeting in Las Vegas in 2011.

Since Dr. Harriet Hall (a.k.a. The SkepDoc) died last week, antivaxxers have been blaming COVID-19 vaccines. Their vileness knows no limits.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

If 2022 was the “year of the gaslighter,” expect a lot more gaslighting in 2023

Gaslight: The inspiration for "gaslighting"

“Gaslighting” is a term that refers to the manipulation of someone in order to lead them to question their own reality and even sanity. Last month, a COVID-19 minimizer and antivaxxer declared 2022 the “year of the gaslighter,” revealing yet again that it’s always projection with science-denying propagandists. Unfortunately, 2023 looks to hold a lot more of the same in store.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking Sports

Why did antivaxxers seize on the Damar Hamlin case?

Was Damar Hamlin the latest athlete to die of COVID-19 vaccination?
Was Damar Hamlin the latest athlete to "die suddenly" because of COVID-19 vaccines? Of course not. His cardiac arrest was, however, a convenient event for antivaxxers who had been pushing this narrative for at least a year.

When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed from an on-field cardiac arrest most likely due to chest trauma, antivaxxers quickly blamed COVID-19 vaccines. The reason was a particularly nasty preexisting variant of the “died suddenly” myth in which athletes are dropping dead from the vaccine. They aren’t.