Category: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Parasite cleanses are ‘modern snake oil.’ Experts explain why.
(Washington Post) You don’t need to spend much time hobnobbing in wellness circles — on social media or in real life — before parasite cleanses come up. Long before they started trending on TikTok, I succumbed to doing a parasite cleanse because a doctor suggested it in her book about autoimmune disorders. According to the book, […]
Nov 1, 2022
A wave of anti-vaccine legislation is sweeping the United States
Vox – The anti-vaccine movement is gaining strength even after 1 million Americans have died of Covid-19. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, does not mince words when describing the scientific legacy of the Covid-19 vaccines: The mRNA shots, he said, are “the greatest scientific achievement in my […]
Oct 8, 2022
China’s ‘Absurd’ Covid Propaganda Stirs Rebellion
New York Times – The use of propaganda in the country has been on overdrive in the pandemic, with some Chinese citizens arguing the language has bordered on “nonsense.” “We have won the great battle against Covid!” “History will remember those who contributed!” “Extinguish every outbreak!” China is now one of the last places on […]
Sep 29, 2022
Doctors who knowingly spread Covid-19 lies should be held accountable
STAT News – The California State Legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that strengthens discipline for doctors who knowingly spread Covid-19 misinformation. Legislation like this is sorely needed across the country. More than two years into the pandemic, Covid-19 misinformation still runs rampant. Some comes from doctors spreading lies about unproven — and actually harmful — […]
Sep 28, 2022
What is behind vaccine hesitancy?
MedicalNewsToday – In a bid to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, public health experts have been pushing for a fast and effective vaccine rollout. However, some members of the public have been hesitant to take up vaccines. What happened, and is there something that science communicators keep getting wrong about […]
Sep 26, 2022
Food Supply Disruption, Vaccine Disinformation, Is Another Front for Russian Falsehoods
NYT – Disinformation experts agree that there is a main driver for these falsehoods: Russia. Propaganda from the Kremlin. Russia is trying to deflect its responsibility for disrupting the world food supply through its invasion of Ukraine. And they warn that these conspiracy theories will only find a more receptive audience as Russia’s invasion continues […]
Sep 22, 2022
Facebook’s anti-vax carrot emoji, explained
Mashable – This is why your uncle has carrot emojis in his Twitter handle. To avoid censorship for the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, anti-vax groups on Facebook have begun coding their messages with the carrot emoji, according to a report from the BBC. The emoji is used in place of the word “vaccine” to avoid the wrath of Facebook’s […]
Sep 22, 2022
A Recipe for Danger: Social Media Challenges Involving Medicines
FDA – Don’t Cook Chicken in NyQuil…
Sep 22, 2022
Stat – Former NIH director and current White House science adviser Francis Collins told a group of journalists late last week about his passion for both the Cancer Moonshot and the new biomedical research agency known as ARPA-H. But he also revealed his pain at seeing people spurn mRNA Covid vaccines developed with breathtaking speed and lamented that […]
Sep 22, 2022