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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Pseudoscience

Andrew Wakefield 25 years later: Paving the way for FLCCC and COVID quacks

It was 25 years ago last week that Andrew Wakefield launched the modern iteration of the antivaccine movement.In doing so, he laid down a template that antivax quacks today still follow.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Pseudoscience Quackery

Richard Moskowitz goes full COVID-19 conspiracy theorist for Age of Autism

Dr. Richard Moskowitz has been a quack MD and homeopath since the 1970s. It is thus unsurprising that he has now pivoted to COVID-19 conspiracy theories and disinformation.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Popular culture Television

Bill Maher: Antivax transphobe or transphobic antivaxxer? You be the judge!

Last Friday, Bill Maher went full transphobe, repurposing old antivax trope commonly used to deny a predominantly genetic component to autism and claim vaccine causation in order to mock the idea that there is a biological basis to being transgender and claim its prevalence is increasing now because it’s “trendy.”

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Religion Skepticism/critical thinking

Why is being an apostate such a big part of COVID-19 contrarian narratives?

There has long been a huge appeal in medicine that derives from being an “apostate”. Since COVID-19 hit, apostasy has become like a drug among too many doctors, and social media has amplified the popularity of “medical apostates” beyond anything I’ve seen previously.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience

COVID-19 vaccines and female infertility: A lie that never dies

Antivaxxers have long claimed that vaccines can cause female infertility. That claim has been resurrected for COVID-19 vaccines. This time, it’s the lipid nanoparticles attacking the ovaries, echoing very old claims about polysorbate-80. Truly, everything old is new again.