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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

The L.A. Times: Painfully false balance on antivax pediatrician Dr Bob Sears

Yesterday, Melody Gutierrez published a profile of antivax pediatrician Dr. Bob Sears in the L.A. Times. Unfortunately, it’s the worst case of false balance about vaccines or an antivaxer that I’ve seen in a long time.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

V is for Vaccine: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Del Bigtree rile up an antivaccine demonstration against SB 276

“V is for Vaccine” was an antivaccine protest at the California Capitol yesterday. RFK Jr. and Del Bigtree fired up antivaxers with their usual cocktail of pseudoscience, misinformation, and political posturing as “health freedom” advocates.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

Austin Bennett takes the violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement a step closer to real violence

Austin Bennett is an antivaxer and chemtrail conspiracy theorist. Yesterday, he approached California Sen. Richard Pan in downtown Sacramento. There, he harangued Dr. Pan and ultimately shoved him, all on Facebook Live. Is the violent rhetoric of antivaxers closer to real violence?

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Antivaccine nonsense Politics Popular culture

SB 277 and bogus medical exemptions to vaccine mandates in California

In 2015 California passed SB 277, which eliminated nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. Unfortunately quacks are writing bogus exemptions. What can be done?

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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Jessica Biel: The latest celebrity antivaxer comes out

Actress Jessica Biel Joined Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lobby California lawmakers to reject SB 276, a bill to stop bogus vaccine exemptions. Despite her claims that she’s “not antivax,” lobbying with a long time antivax crank like RFK, Jr. and expressing to legislators your belief that vaccines are both dangerous and ineffective are pretty much the definition of antivax.