Category: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Growing vaccine hesitancy fuels measles, chickenpox resurgence in U.S.
(Washington Post) A rapidly growing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio — largely involving unvaccinated children — is fueling concerns among health officials that more parent resistance to routine childhood immunizations will intensify aresurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Most of the 82 children infected so far are old enough to get the shots, but their parents chose not to […]
Dec 27, 2022
Confusion and falsehoods spread as China reverses its ‘zero-COVID’ policy
(NPR) After nearly three years of strict “zero-COVID” policies, in recent days Chinese officials have rolled back most of them following rare protests across the country. Mass testing and mass quarantining are now things of the past. Just as dramatic as the policy shifts is the shift in messaging coming from the public health experts […]
Dec 20, 2022
Two Doctors Known for COVID Misinfo Now Reinstated on Twitter
(MedPageToday) Two physicians accused of spreading COVID misinformation who were previously banned from Twitter are back on the platform. Robert W. Malone, MD, a self-described “skeptic of mRNA vaccines” who has argued that Pfizer and Moderna inoculations against the virus worsen infections, tweeted opens in a new tab or window on Dec. 12, ” I’m back…Welcome to […]
Dec 16, 2022
Book About ‘War on Ivermectin’ Distributed By Major Publishing House
(MedPageToday) Pierre Kory, MD, one of the most vocal proponents of ivermectin for COVID-19, has the support of Simon & Schuster, with the leading publishing house slated to distribute his upcoming book, which claims the widely discredited drug “saved millions.” Slated for release in February 2023, The War on Ivermectin: The Medicine That Saved Millions and […]
Dec 13, 2022
It’s Still Worth Fighting Anti-Covid Vaccine Misinformation
(Bloomberg) Medical misinformation has never contributed to as many deaths as in the last 18 months. Recently released statistics show thousands of “excess” deaths concentrated among the US states and counties with the lowest uptake of Covid-19 vaccines — though the vaccines were free and available to everyone. Uptake has been suppressed in those areas because a significant […]
Dec 12, 2022
Trolls continue to harass Dr. Fauci and family over COVID misinformation
(Washington Post) Dr. Fauci points to an “extraordinary amount of misleading information” propagated online as a key factor of stirring up abuse toward him and his family. He said the United States is faced with a “tsunami of misinformation and disinformation that is stimulated and kindled by a great deal of divisiveness in the country.” […]
Dec 9, 2022
Her Baby Needs Heart Surgery. But She Is Demanding ‘Unvaccinated’ Blood.
(NYT) New Zealand’s health service is seeking to take temporary custody of a critically ill infant so it can perform a lifesaving operation. A New Zealand couple is refusing to allow their infant son to undergo lifesaving heart surgery using blood from people vaccinated against Covid-19, showing how vaccine misinformation continues to manifest in unexpected […]
Dec 6, 2022
New Antivax Campaign Released as a “Documentary”
(diedsuddenly.info) From the webiste: Healthy adults are dropping dead all across the globe. In the last 18 months, the term “Died Suddenly” has risen to the very top of “most searched” Google terms. Now, the award-winning documentary team that brought you, “Watch The Water”, and “These Little Ones” travels around the world to find answers, […]
Dec 2, 2022
A Lasting Legacy of Covid: Far-Right Platforms Spreading Health Myths
(NYT) Not long after Randy Watt died of Covid-19, his daughter Danielle sat down at her computer, searching for clues as to why the smart and thoughtful man she knew had refused to get vaccinated. She pulled up Google, typed in a screen name he had used in the past and discovered a secret that […]
Nov 29, 2022
This tech millionaire went from covid trial funder to misinformation superspreader
(MIT Tech Review) After boosting unproven covid drugs and campaigning against vaccines, Steve Kirsch was abandoned by his team of scientific advisers—and left out of a job. In the early days of the pandemic, as billions of dollars poured into the hunt for novel treatments and vaccines, veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Kirsch did what […]
Nov 28, 2022