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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Religion

The latest attempt by the antivaccine movement to use religion to oppose school vaccine mandates

Antivaxxers frequently claim that their objection to vaccines is based on their religion. Another attempt to frame opposition to school vaccine mandates as religious freedoms is making the rounds.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

ICAN and Del Bigtree’s “victory” against the CDC: A huge nothingburger

Del Bigtree’s antivaccine group ICAN has claimed a huge “victory” over the CDC over the bogus antivax claim that vaccines cause autism. It’s really a huge nothingburger, a grifting fundraising tactic.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Evolution Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Geert Vanden Bossche is to COVID-19 vaccines as Andrew Wakefield is to MMR

Geert Vanden Bossche is a scientist who published an open letter warning of global catastrophe due to deadly variants of COVID-19 selected for by mass vaccination. His argument sounds a lot like an argument Andrew Wakefield once made for MMR. There’s even grift likely involved!

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Bad science Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Quackademic medicine, COVID-19 edition, part 1: Magic amulets

“Quackademic medicine” is a term coined to describe the increasing infiltration of pseudoscience and quackery into medical academia. Unsurprisingly, we’re starting to see quackademic medicine turn its attention to COVID-19. In this case, traditional Chinese medicine is invoked to claim that magic amulets might prevent COVID-19,

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

The BMJ editors strike back against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook

The BMJ’s outgoing editor Fiona Godlee and incoming editor wrote open letter to Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s labeling Paul Thacker’s conspiracy-filled Pfizer story as lacking context. It did not go well. Actually, it was downright embarrassing.