As a deadly measles outbreak continued to kill children in Samoa, antivaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote to Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi. His deceptive pseudoscientific talking points became the template for antivaxers seeking to deflect blame from themselves.
Tag: vaccine
Antivaccine activists and the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa
There is a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa. It is fueled by low vaccine uptake sparked by a tragic case in which two children died because of a screwup mixing up vaccines. Antivaxers have used this case to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Antivaxers are targeting minorities with their misinformation and conspiracy theories
Orac has been writing about this a long time. Finally, the mainstream media are noticing how antivaxers target minorities with their message.
Molecular mimicry: The new old antivaccine abuse of science
Antivaxers are nothing if not persistent and sometimes creative abusing science. This time it's molecular mimicry, because of course it is. Anything to blame vaccines for autoimmune disease!
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.
Marianne Williamson is NOT a skeptic
Faye Flam of Bloomberg Technology defended Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson against charges of being antivaccine and antiscience. It does not go well. Flam ignores the worst nonsense and misunderstands science.
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.
Facebook joins Google in deprioritizing medical misinformation: Are social media companies finally “getting it”?
Yesterday, social media giant Facebook announced that it was acting against medical misinformation by using keyphrases to deprioritize results promoting misinformation and scams? Is it enough, and is it too late?
Chad Hermann and Todd Wolynn: On the nature of the antivaccine movement and lighting the signal fires of Gondor
Chad Hermann and Todd Wolynn published a study about antivaxers that basically confirmed a lot of what we know about how they use Facebook to harass their perceived enemies. More important is the work they're doing provide a way for those targeted by antivaxers for harassment to light signal fires to attract reinforcements.
Harassment of doctors and grieving mothers: A feature, not a bug, of the antivaccine movement
Harassment of its opponents is a feature, not a bug, of the antivaccine movement, even if the victims are grieving mothers. The idea is to harass and intimidate their opponents into silence.