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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Movies Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Tribeca Film Festival wrap-up: Andrew Wakefield’s “brilliance” and spies and Nazis, oh my!

Whenever a story like Robert De Niro’s decision to choose an antivaccine film by Andrew Wakefield for screening at his prestigious Tribeca Film Festival followed by his decision to drop the film like the proverbial hot potato upon being shown just how full of misinformation, distortions, and pseudoscience the film is shows up, I not […]

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

The annals of “I’m not antivaccine,” part 20: “There is no safe vaccine” and excusing the murder of autistic children

One of the most insidious and oft-repeated myths of the antivaccine movement is that vaccines cause autism. Certainly, it is true that there was an antivaccine movement long before anyone thought of linking vaccines to autism. For example, in the the 1980s the DPT (diptheria-whole cell pertussis-tetanus) vaccine was linked to encephalitis and neurological damage, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Movies

Raging Bullsh*t, part 2: J. B. Handley enters the fray to defend Robert De Niro’s antivaccine stylings

Robert De Niro facilitated the acceptance of VAXXED, an antivaccine propaganda film disguised as a documentary made by Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree. In the aftermath, J.B. Handley enters the fray, and Wakefield throws everyone under the bus.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Congratulations, America! You’ve just elected a conspiracy-mongering scientific ignoramus as President!

Well, I’m back. Yes, late last night, I re-entered returned home from vacation in Mexico before our new President-Elect has a chance to build his wall. I was so exhausted that I had no time to write anything and remain so. At least I wasn’t stupid enough to go back to work today and instead […]