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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Science denial: A form of conspiracy theory

Regular readers of this blog know that many forms of quackery and science denial have conspiracy theories associated with them, but a further examination suggests that all science denial a form of conspiracy theory. In the middle of a deadly pandemic, it is a form of conspiracy theory with potentially deadly consequences.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Science

It’s been a week since Joe Biden won. Now what for medical science policy?

In 2016 and 2020, scientists expressed surprise and alarm at the results of the Presidential election. In 2016 it was alarm that someone as antiscience as Donald Trump was elected, and in 2020 it was over how close the election was, given Trump’s dismal record on science, medicine, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Are scientists out of touch? And now what, for federal science policy and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

“Censorship!”: The common bogus complaint of science deniers

Once more, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cries “Censorship!” over efforts to counter COVID-19 and antivaccine disinformation. Hilarity ensues.

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Bad science Computers and social media Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

The Great Barrington Declaration: COVID-19, “magnified minority,” and eugenics

Apparently signed by thousands of scientists, the Great Barrington Declaration argues that lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic do more harm than good and that society should use “Focused Protection” for the elderly and those at high risk for severe disease and death from COVID-19 while letting the young go about their business normally. A closer look reveals that COVID-19 deniers are taking a page from a very old denialist propaganda playbook.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

No, the Americans With Disabilities Act doesn’t say shop owners have to let maskless people into their stores

Antimask activists falsely claim they have medical problems that mean that they don’t have to wear masks and, further, that the American with Disabilities Act protects them. They’re wrong.