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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Humor Medicine Politics

S2173: NJ antivaxxers show up too early and refuse to leave a meeting about NJ Transit. There’s a metaphor there somewhere

Antivaxxers flooded the New Jersey statehouse Thursday to protest S2173, a bill to end nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. Unfortunately for them, they initially went to the meeting room way too early and wouldn’t leave when informed it was a meeting about NJ Transit. There’s definitely a metaphor there.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Scientists and physicians versus the central conspiracy theory of science denial

Dr. Ashish Jha has led other scientists into the fray against COVID-19 pseudoscience and deserves a lot of praise for that. However, to be more effective, he and his colleagues need to understand the critical role of conspiracy theories in science denial.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

Austin Bennett takes the violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement a step closer to real violence

Austin Bennett is an antivaxer and chemtrail conspiracy theorist. Yesterday, he approached California Sen. Richard Pan in downtown Sacramento. There, he harangued Dr. Pan and ultimately shoved him, all on Facebook Live. Is the violent rhetoric of antivaxers closer to real violence?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Popular culture Religion

Why is the Church of Scientology helping antivaxers in a last ditch attempt to block passage of SB 276?

California SB 276, a bill to clamp down on bogus medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates, is nearing the finish line and looks likely to be passed into law soon. Why are Scientologists helping antivaxers in a last ditch effort to block its passage?

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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

Jessica Biel: The latest celebrity antivaxer comes out

Actress Jessica Biel Joined Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lobby California lawmakers to reject SB 276, a bill to stop bogus vaccine exemptions. Despite her claims that she’s “not antivax,” lobbying with a long time antivax crank like RFK, Jr. and expressing to legislators your belief that vaccines are both dangerous and ineffective are pretty much the definition of antivax.