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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Scientists and physicians versus the central conspiracy theory of science denial

Dr. Ashish Jha has led other scientists into the fray against COVID-19 pseudoscience and deserves a lot of praise for that. However, to be more effective, he and his colleagues need to understand the critical role of conspiracy theories in science denial.

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Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

AIER likens anti-“lockdown” cranks to abolitionists. Hilarity ensues

Cranks love a heroic persecution narrative, and the climate science-denying right wing think tank American Institute of Economic Research (AIER) has a doozy: COVID-19 “anti-lockdown” cranks like Scott Atlas and those behind the Great Barrington Declaration are the new abolitionists! This is a page from the antivax playbook.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Harlem Vaccine Forum: RFK Jr.’s fiasco of an attempt to court African-Americans

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reached out to the African-American Community in Harlem with his antivaccine message. It didn’t go so well. First, Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Committee was going to host it, bailed due to negative publicity. Then RFK Jr. was kicked out of his venue during his speech because the event went way over time. RFK Jr.’s efforts do, however, show how white antivaxers are a danger to African-Americans and other minority communities through their active, albeit hamfisted, attempts to promote antivaccine misinformation to them.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Politics Popular culture

Vaccine Injury Epidemic (VIE) Event: Antivaxers will march on Washington again

Antivaxers are going to descend on Washington for their Vaccine Injury Epidemic (VIE) Event in November. Meet the new antivax march, same as the old antivaccine march.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Pseudoscience

Another study shows that autism is mainly genetic. Antivaxers go crazy.

This month the largest epidemiological study of its kind was published and concluded, once again, that autism is primarily due to genes and that the environmental component of autism risk is small. Not surprisingly, once again antivaxers didn’t want to hear that message.