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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

Gov. Ron DeSantis grants antivaxxers their wish, a mini-“Nuremberg 2.0”

Since long before the pandemic,antivaxxers have fantasized about Nuremberg-like tribunals (a “Nuremberg 2.0, if you will) to punish vaccine advocates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is now giving them their wish.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Claiming the mantle of “reasonableness” by attacking even worse cranks

A couple of days ago, Joe Mercola tried to seem “reasonable” by contrasting himself to other quacks by “conceding” that SARS-CoV-2 actually exists. Last night Dr. Vinay Prasad tried to do the same thing by “analyzing” the appearances of conspiracy theorists on Joe Rogan’s show. The parallels are eerie.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Science denial: A form of conspiracy theory

Regular readers of this blog know that many forms of quackery and science denial have conspiracy theories associated with them, but a further examination suggests that all science denial a form of conspiracy theory. In the middle of a deadly pandemic, it is a form of conspiracy theory with potentially deadly consequences.

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Medicine Movies Popular culture Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Oprah Winfrey for President? Does anyone remember all the pseudoscience and quackery she’s promoted?

Oprah Winfrey gave a rousing acceptance speech while accepting the Cecile B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes on Sunday night, sparking talk of her running for President in 2020. It’s time to throw some cold water on that idea by reminding everyone that Oprah is not a force for reason and evidence. Quite the contrary.

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Cancer Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

True believers and scammers in alternative medicine

In the online echo chamber promoting alternative medicine, there are varying degrees of deception. There are true believers (who are often victims), entrepreneurs (who are often true believers who found a profitable business), and scammers. The categories are not mutually exclusive.