Covid-19 Updates & Info

All the other crazy stuff we talk about. Politics, Science, News, the Kitchen, other hobbies.
User avatar
Suliso Latvia
Posts: 4404
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:30 pm
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Has thanked: 274 times
Been thanked: 1453 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1291

Post by Suliso »

NYT article about one of the mighty 12

The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online
Researchers and regulators say Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician, creates and profits from misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines.

SAN FRANCISCO — The article that appeared online on Feb. 9 began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. Then over its next 3,400 words, it declared coronavirus vaccines were “a medical fraud” and said the injections did not prevent infections, provide immunity or stop transmission of the disease.

Instead, the article claimed, the shots “alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.”

Its assertions were easily disprovable. No matter. Over the next few hours, the article was translated from English into Spanish and Polish. It appeared on dozens of blogs and was picked up by anti-vaccination activists, who repeated the false claims online. The article also made its way to Facebook, where it reached 400,000 people, according to data from CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned tool.

The entire effort traced back to one person: Joseph Mercola.

Dr. Mercola, 67, an osteopathic physician in Cape Coral, Fla., has long been a subject of criticism and government regulatory actions for his promotion of unproven or unapproved treatments. But most recently, he has become the chief spreader of coronavirus misinformation online, according to researchers.

An internet-savvy entrepreneur who employs dozens, Dr. Mercola has published over 600 articles on Facebook that cast doubt on Covid-19 vaccines since the pandemic began, reaching a far larger audience than other vaccine skeptics, an analysis by The New York Times found. His claims have been widely echoed on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The activity has earned Dr. Mercola, a natural health proponent with an Everyman demeanor, the dubious distinction of the top spot in the “Disinformation Dozen,” a list of 12 people responsible for sharing 65 percent of all anti-vaccine messaging on social media, said the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate. Others on the list include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, and Erin Elizabeth, the founder of the website Health Nut News, who is also Dr. Mercola’s girlfriend.

“Mercola is the pioneer of the anti-vaccine movement,” said Kolina Koltai, a researcher at the University of Washington who studies online conspiracy theories. “He’s a master of capitalizing on periods of uncertainty, like the pandemic, to grow his movement.”

Some high-profile media figures have promoted skepticism of the vaccines, notably Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham of Fox News, though other Fox personalities have urged viewers to get the shots. Now, Dr. Mercola and others in the “Disinformation Dozen” are in the spotlight as vaccinations in the United States slow, just as the highly infectious Delta variant has fueled a resurgence in coronavirus cases. More than 97 percent of people hospitalized for Covid-19 are unvaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

President Biden has blamed online falsehoods for causing people to refrain from getting the injections. But even as Mr. Biden has urged social media companies to “do something about the misinformation,” Dr. Mercola shows the difficulty of that task.

Over the last decade, Dr. Mercola has built a vast operation to push natural health cures, disseminate anti-vaccination content and profit from all of it, said researchers who have studied his network. In 2017, he filed an affidavit claiming his net worth was “in excess of $100 million.”

And rather than directly stating online that vaccines don’t work, Dr. Mercola’s posts often ask pointed questions about their safety and discuss studies that other doctors have refuted. Facebook and Twitter have allowed some of his posts to remain up with caution labels, and the companies have struggled to create rules to pull down posts that have nuance.

“He has been given new life by social media, which he exploits skillfully and ruthlessly to bring people into his thrall,” said Imran Ahmed, director of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which studies misinformation and hate speech. Its “Disinformation Dozen” report has been cited in congressional hearings and by the White House.

In an email, Dr. Mercola said it was “quite peculiar to me that I am named as the #1 superspreader of misinformation.” Some of his Facebook posts were only liked by hundreds of people, he said, so he didn’t understand “how the relatively small number of shares could possibly cause such calamity to Biden’s multibillion dollar vaccination campaign.”

The efforts against him are political, Dr. Mercola added, and he accused the White House of “illegal censorship by colluding with social media companies.”

He did not address whether his coronavirus claims were factual. “I am the lead author of a peer reviewed publication regarding vitamin D and the risk of Covid-19 and I have every right to inform the public by sharing my medical research,” he said. He did not identify the publication, and The Times was unable to verify his claim.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/24/tech ... e=Homepage
User avatar
MJ2004
Posts: 417
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 3:18 pm
Location: Boston
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 300 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1292

Post by MJ2004 »

I’d already heard of Dr. Mercola before this. He’s an all-purpose crackpot of the highest order.
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1293

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
User avatar
Suliso Latvia
Posts: 4404
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:30 pm
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Has thanked: 274 times
Been thanked: 1453 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1294

Post by Suliso »

No comment

Image
User avatar
ponchi101 Venezuela
Site Admin
Posts: 14722
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:40 pm
Location: New Macondo
Has thanked: 3857 times
Been thanked: 5565 times
Contact:

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1295

Post by ponchi101 »

🤦
Ego figere omnia et scio supellectilem
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1296

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1297

Post by ti-amie »





“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
User avatar
dryrunguy
Posts: 1532
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2020 6:31 am
Has thanked: 693 times
Been thanked: 1155 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1298

Post by dryrunguy »

Serious question... Has anyone seen chatter in far right wing circles about about "vaccine passes" being the Mark of the Beast? If it hasn't surfaced yet, it will soon.
User avatar
JazzNU United States of America
Posts: 6655
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2021 6:57 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Has thanked: 2786 times
Been thanked: 2374 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1299

Post by JazzNU »

For New York City. Vaccinate or weekly tests.


User avatar
Suliso Latvia
Posts: 4404
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 2:30 pm
Location: Basel, Switzerland
Has thanked: 274 times
Been thanked: 1453 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1300

Post by Suliso »

dryrunguy wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 9:43 pm Serious question... Has anyone seen chatter in far right wing circles about about "vaccine passes" being the Mark of the Beast? If it hasn't surfaced yet, it will soon.
https://god.dailydot.com/vaccine-passpo ... holocaust/

Courtesy of your favorite Republican representative :bananas:
User avatar
ponchi101 Venezuela
Site Admin
Posts: 14722
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 4:40 pm
Location: New Macondo
Has thanked: 3857 times
Been thanked: 5565 times
Contact:

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1301

Post by ponchi101 »

Dry's question's time stamp: 4:43
Suliso's answer time stamp: 5:11.
Google can KMA.
Ego figere omnia et scio supellectilem
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1302

Post by ti-amie »

Posted without comment. And I'm sorry for the Newsmax clip sullying the site.

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
User avatar
dryrunguy
Posts: 1532
Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2020 6:31 am
Has thanked: 693 times
Been thanked: 1155 times

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1303

Post by dryrunguy »

I have to stop asking questions. And I don't DARE click on the Newsmax link. It would adulterate my Twitter and YouTube feeds.
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1304

Post by ti-amie »

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
User avatar
ti-amie United States of America
Posts: 22985
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:44 pm
Location: The Boogie Down, NY
Has thanked: 5302 times
Been thanked: 3284 times

Honorary_medal

Re: Covid-19 Updates & Info

#1305

Post by ti-amie »

I'm beginning to think that the current head of the CDC needs to be relieved of her post.
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests