Efforts to hold COVID-19 disinformation-spreading physicians accountable are leading to increasing calls by cranks for a “debate” with them. This is a disinformation tactic, not an honest call for debate.

Efforts to hold COVID-19 disinformation-spreading physicians accountable are leading to increasing calls by cranks for a “debate” with them. This is a disinformation tactic, not an honest call for debate.
At the Defeat the Mandates rally on Sunday, RFK Jr. invoked Anne Frank in an antivaccine speech. Then he apologized. Shorter RFK Jr.: “Oops, I did it again!” Why is anyone surprised? This has always been RFK Jr.’s MO.
A month ago, Dr. Robert Malone announced the “Defeat the Mandates” rally on Joe Rogan’s podcast, to be held this Sunday. I sensed many echoes of Jenny McCarthy’s 2008 “Green Our Vaccines” rally, although what’s different is even more disturbing than the antivaccine misinformation that’s the same.
NPR recently did a story about the alignment of the Republican Party and antivaxxers. Come for the freedom, stay for the antivax pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.
Del Bigtree almost bled to death from hemorrhoids, but still refused transfusion from donors vaccinated against COVID-19. Instead, he flew to Cancun to get “unvaccinated blood” at a quack cancer clinic. This sort of disinformation can kill. In Bigtree’s case, it almost did.