Results for: autism

Miracle Mineral Solution

Bleaching away what ails you: The Genesis II Church is still selling Miracle Mineral Supplement as a cure-all

Miracle Mineral Supplement (MMS) has been sold by the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing as a cure-all to treat conditions and diseases as diverse as autism, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and malaria. Indeed, it's touted as a cure for nearly all disease. It is, however, basically industrial bleach. As ridiculous and harmful as MMS is, it's a quackery that just...

/ April 22, 2019

Measles outbreaks and the antivaccine movement

Dr. Gorski returns from medical leave and finds that a lot has been going on with respect to vaccines, antivaxers, and measles outbreaks. Measles outbreaks are changing the narrative, emboldening legislators to tighten vaccine mandates, and also making antivaxers more radical. However, the narrative is, as is usually the case, more complex than what we usually hear.

/ April 15, 2019

Another Measles Outbreak – Blame Antivaxxers

We are in the midst of record-breaking measles outbreaks. This is the time to push for stronger regulations and to get rid of non-medical exemptions.

/ April 10, 2019

A Review of Under Our Skin, A Cult Classic

Under Our Skin is a propaganda film attempting to sell viewers dangerous treatments for 'chronic Lyme disease', a rejected diagnosis not recognized by any legitimate medical organization.

/ April 8, 2019

Statistical Significance and Toxicity

Researchers propose to get rid of the use statistical significance in science reporting. The idea has merit.

/ March 27, 2019

Shots Heard: When the antivaccine movement swarms and harasses on social media, what can we do?

Of late, antivaxers active on social media have been ramping up their attacks on their perceived enemies, up to and including attacking even mothers who have lost children to vaccine-preventable disease. A new study looks at the characteristics of this group, even as two doctors form a group to help those who are victims of antivaccine harassment on social media, Shots Heard...

/ March 25, 2019

Fighting Online for SBM

Physicians are being harassed offline by antivax and other trolls. We can't let that happen.

/ March 20, 2019

For Discussion: Should I Only Write About Fake Stuff If It Is Well-Known?

Does writing about questionable topics that are not well-known do more harm or good? There are arguments on both sides.

/ March 19, 2019
Amazon Prime

Combatting dangerous quackery and antivaccine misinformation on streaming services and social media

Last week, Amazon began removing antivaccine videos from Amazon Prime. Last month, YouTube announced that it was demonetizing antivaccine videos, and Facebook stated that it would be taking action to de-emphasize antivaccine pages in its searched. These are all good first tentative steps, but the problem of quackery on streaming platforms and social media goes way beyond just antivaccine content. Making it...

/ March 4, 2019
Peter Gøtzsche

Peter Gøtzsche and antivaxers: Should a science advocate ever speak at an antivaccine conference?

Last week, I wrote about how evidence-based medicine icon Peter Gøtzsche was slated to speak at an antivaccine conference. This week, I now know why he agreed to appear. In part, he thought he could change antivaxer minds. This leads me to ask: Is it ever a good idea for a science advocate to speak at a pseudoscience conference?

/ February 25, 2019