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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine

The “Disinformation Dozen” vs. public health

A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows that nearly two thirds of antivaccine disinformation on social media comes from 12 sources, dubbed the “disinformation dozen.”

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

ICAN’s deceptive legal war on state health departments over COVID-19 vaccine messaging

Antivaccine propagandist Del Bigtree’s ICAN is waging a legalistic war on state health departments’ efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccination based on attacking them for “false advertising.” This is largely an unforced error on the part of health departments, which now need to be very cautious over their wording promoting these vaccines.

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Clinical trials Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

A blast from the early pandemic past: Healight to treat COVID-19

In April, I wrote about Healight, a device intended to treat COVID-19 by shining UV light directly into the lungs of patients on a ventilator. Its creators have finally published a clinical study. Unfortunately, it is…underwhelming.

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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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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Poor, poor, pitiful Prof. Gøtzsche: Antivaxxers and COVID-19 cranks are quoting him in support of their pseudoscience

Prof. Peter Gøtzsche really, really doesn’t like that COVID-19 deniers and antivaxxers are quoting him to support their misinformation. He has no one to blame but himself. He is a useful idiot for such people.