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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Television

False balance on vaccines in Portland, courtesy of KATU and Genevieve Reaume

False balance is the bane of a science communicator’s existence. KATU’s Genevieve Reaume provided false balance in abundance in a story about the measles outbreak and the antivaccine movement.

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Bad science Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Paddison Program: Dietary quackery for rheumatoid arthritis

Clint Paddison is an Australian comedian with a science degree who developed rheumatoid arthritis at age 31. He now claims to have controlled it with a diet he developed to alter the gut microbiome. How plausible is his story, and does his “Paddison Program” work? Answer: Not very and almost certainly no.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

MMR vaccination is not associated with autism, take ∞

Yet another huge epidemiological study finds no association between vaccination with MMR and autism. Same as it ever was. That doesn’t stop a particularly clueless antivaxer from trying to “refute” it, to hilariously inept results.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Bioethics Medicine Popular culture Quackery

Peter Gøtzsche and the antivaxers

Recently, it was noted that Peter Gøtzsche, formerly of Cochrane Nordic, was featured on the speaker list for an antivaccine quackfest. Two days later, he announced that he would not be speaking there. So what happened and why did Prof. Gøtzsche agree to speak at an antivax conference in the first place?

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Politics Quackery

Antivaccine legislator Sen. Paul Boyer is doing his best to make measles great again in Arizona

Arizona state Senator Paul Boyer introduced a bill that would “make measles great again” under the guise of “informed consent.” It is in reality “misinformed consent.” Isn’t it great to have antivaxers trying to inflict disease on children?