Category: Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Will Pharma Propagandist Peter Hotez Get Fauci’s Old Job at NIH?
(Twitter/PeterHotez) Prof. Peter Hotez responds to anti vaccine propaganda on Twitter
Jan 10, 2023
(Fortune) Scientists are keen to shut down the idea that vaccines are making COVID strains “stronger” and that those who have had a booster are more susceptible to the disease. The World Health Organization has confirmed that XBB.1.5—dubbed “Kraken” by biology professor Ryan Gregory—is the most transmissible strain yet. The Centers for Disease Control and […]
Jan 10, 2023
The vaccine disinformation playbook
(NYT) The vaccine disinformation playbook includes the use of fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry-picked data and conspiracy theories. Other logical fallacies include non sequiturs, posing the question while assuming the answer and failing to consider alternative hypotheses.
Jan 9, 2023
As Covid-19 Continues to Spread, So Does Misinformation About It
(NYT) Doctors are exasperated by the persistence of false and misleading claims about the virus. As Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths rise in parts of the country, myths and misleading narratives continue to evolve and spread, exasperating overburdened doctors and evading content moderators. What began in 2020 as rumors that cast doubt on the existence or seriousness […]
Jan 3, 2023
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