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Bad science Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

Dr. Didier Raoult: Bad science on COVID-19 and bullying critics

Didier Raoult is the French “brave maverick doctor” who’s been promoting hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat COVID-19. Like all true cranks, he’s now lashing out at critics as the science trends towards the conclusion that his treatment doesn’t work.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Politics

Minnesota State Senator Jim Abeler: Stealth antivaccine advocate?

Recently, Sen. Jim Abeler of Minnesota created the MN Autism Council, an advisory panel tasked with advising the legislature on autism policy. A closer look at the story reveals that Sen. Abeler is a chiropractor, two of the members are antivaxers, and one of them was a founding member tasked with forming the council. This is how antivaccine activism is disguised as autism advocacy.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

The violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement intensifies

Violent rhetoric has always been part of the antivaccine movement.Leaders of the antivax movement, like Del Bigtree, use apocalyptic and violent rhetoric, and then deny that they’ve done so. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse, and I fear violence.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Bioethics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Barbara Loe Fisher: Well baby visits are vaccine battlegrounds!

The grande dame of the antivaccine movement, Barbara Loe Fisher, is ranting again. This time, she is peddling both misinformed consent about vaccines and likening her struggle to social justice movements of the past as she portrays well baby visits as “vaccine battlegrounds” instigated by the AAP.

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Antivaccine nonsense Holocaust Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking World War II

Are antivaccine groups “hate groups”? Not exactly, but the answer isn’t entirely no, either.

Recently, Dr. Peter Hotez characterized antivaccine groups as “hate groups,” and antivaxer Barbara Loe Fisher took great umbrage, accusing Dr. Hotez and the public health community of “bullying” parents of “vaccine-injured” children. Did Dr. Hotez go too far? And what about Fisher’s hypocrisy, given that Dr. Hotez has received death threats credible enough to warrant police protection and Fisher herself has sued her critics, in effect trying to bully them into silence?