Category: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
California’s ‘wellness’ devotees think raw milk infected with bird flu will ‘boost immunity’
Telegraph Unpasteurised milk presents a risk at the best of times – but not in parts of woo-woo California, it seems. Despite the US health authorities warning that raw milk may contain live H5N1 virus – linked to bird flu outbreaks across 39 dairy farms – some people are reported to be seeking more of it. Just […]
May 15, 2024
STAT When it comes to federal agencies communicating to the public about H5N1 bird flu, it feels like a classic case of Yogi Berra’s déjà vu all over again. In the wake of pointed criticism about its failure to release new information about the growing H5N1 outbreak in livestock, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of […]
May 15, 2024
How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false
The Conversation Conspiracy theories are everywhere, and they can involve just about anything. People believe false conspiracy theories for a wide range of reasons – including the fact that there are real conspiracies, like efforts by the Sackler family to profit by concealing the addictiveness of oxycontin at the cost of countless American lives. The extreme consequences of unfounded conspiratorial beliefs could be […]
May 7, 2024
Doc Who Said COVID Vax Can Magnetize People Has License Reinstated
MedPage Today Sherri Tenpenny, DO, the Ohio physician who claimed COVID vaccines can magnetize people, had her medical license reinstated last month, according to the State Medical Board of Ohio. Tenpenny’s license was suspended indefinitely in August 2023, but was reinstated during the April 10 board meeting, a spokesperson for the board confirmed to MedPage Today. “Sherri Tenpenny […]
May 7, 2024
Physicist Studying SARS-CoV-2 Virus Believes He Has Found Hints We Are Living In A Simulation
IFLScience A physicist studying mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus claims to have found evidence for a new law of physics termed the “second law of Infodynamics”, and that it could indicate we are living in a simulated universe. On top of that, he suggests the study appears to imply that the theory of evolution is […]
Apr 17, 2024
Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists
KFF From spring break parties to Mardi Gras, many people remember the last major “normal” thing they did before the novel coronavirus pandemic dawned, forcing governments worldwide to issue stay-at-home advisories and shutdowns. Even before the first case of covid-19 was detected in the U.S., fears and uncertainties helped spur misinformation’s rapid spread. In March […]
Apr 3, 2024
How to counter vaccine misinformation in political discourse
Washington Post | Opinion This fact might be hard to believe, but there’s no denying it: Anti-vaccine sentiments are likely to play a key role in this year’s election. President Biden is fending off challenges from not one but two opponents regularly spouting anti-vaccine messages. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has repeatedly declared in campaign speeches that he […]
Mar 27, 2024
Medical Misinfo Runs Rampant Online.
MedPageToday Online misinformation about vaccines harm patients, undermines trust in science, and places additional burdens on our healthcare system through reduced vaccine uptake. All in all, it is a barrier to protecting public health. As physicians, we see the damages caused by vaccine misinformation firsthand, and we welcome conversations with our patients about vaccine safety […]
Mar 26, 2024
Health Misinformation Is Evolving. Here’s How to Spot It.
NYT The Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday in a case that involves the Biden administration’s efforts to communicate with social media sites about posts officials believed made false or misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines and the pandemic. While the case has primarily focused on a debate around free speech, it also has put a spotlight on the […]
Mar 20, 2024
MSN Disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield – whose fake anti-vax data has been blamed for the current measles epidemic – has set his sights on discrediting the mumps vaccine. The 67-year-old, who fled to the US after being struck off in the UK for fraudulently connecting the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism, is […]
Feb 14, 2024