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Cancer Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

True believers and scammers in alternative medicine

In the online echo chamber promoting alternative medicine, there are varying degrees of deception. There are true believers (who are often victims), entrepreneurs (who are often true believers who found a profitable business), and scammers. The categories are not mutually exclusive.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Hey, my fellow pro-vax warriors, death threats are NEVER acceptable, mmmkay? Knock it off!

Antivax doctor Suzanne Humphries received a death threat. It’s not clear if it’s from a provaccine advocate or is a joke, but I’m taking this opportunity to unequivocally condemn threats of violence of any kind.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Quackery

Quoth the antivaxer: “Vaccination is a religion.” Quoth Orac: “Nice projection, there.”

Levi Quackenboss is one of the more oblivious and obtuse antivaxers out there. She demonstrates this again with a clumsy post comparing vaccination to religion.

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Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

A conversation with a Rigvir flack

My skeptical analysis of Rigvir, a “Virotherapy” from Latvia being promoted by alternative medicine clinics as a cancer cure, caught the attention of the International Virotherapy Center (IVC). The result was a long and very telling e-mail exchange between its Assistant of Business Development and myself. I post it because the arguments used in the discussion are very telling about where the IVC is coming from when it comes to science. Hint: It’s not a good place.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking Television

False balance in reporting the case of a local mother jailed for contempt of court for reneging on an agreement to vaccinate her child

Rachel Bredow is antivaccine and doesn’t want her children vaccinated. Her ex-husband disagrees. When Ms. Bredow violated a court order to vaccinate her child, she was thrown into jail for contempt of court. Unfortunately, our local media have not exactly covered themselves in glory covering this story.