The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online is not the 12

Dr. Robert Malone discusses vaccine risks after YouTube deletes podcast

Dr. Malone is the discoverer of in-vitro and in-vivo RNA transfection and the inventor of mRNA vaccines, while he was at the Salk Institute in 1988. (Read Biography)

The New York Times

The Most Influential Spreader of Coronavirus Misinformation Online

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

Instead, the article claimed, the shots โ€œalter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.โ€

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 โ€œDisinformation Dozen,โ€ 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. Mercolaโ€™s girlfriend.

โ€œMercola is the pioneer of the anti-vaccine movement,โ€ said Kolina Koltai, a researcher at the University of Washington who studies online conspiracy theories. โ€œHeโ€™s a master of capitalizing on periods of uncertainty, like the pandemic, to grow his movement.โ€

By Sheera Frenkel

Read Full Article

The New York Times
The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/
The New York Times brings you unparalleled access to the people and events shaping our world today. we tell stories In a range of formats to fit your lifestyle.

Columns

How Legal Immigration Is Keeping Farms Afloat

The H-2A visa program is an example of how legal immigration can supply labor in America, but farmers say reform is needed.

Trumpโ€™s EO to Reduce Drug Prices Explained

Trump signed an Executive Order to bring the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs in line with those paid by other nations around the world.

Parents of Autistic Children Weigh In on RFK Jr.โ€™s Plan to Find the Cause

โ€˜The bottom line is we want the truth. We want safe products for our kids,โ€™ said an Ohio dad with an autistic child.

Fighting the Idiocracy

Despite our country's noble efforts to defend freedom and liberty across the globe we now find ourselves defending democracy against idiocracy.

Recent Sun Activity Could Trigger Major Earthquakes

A number of scientists around the world are sharing concerns about an imminent global seismic event.

News

5 Takeaways From Supreme Court Hearing on Nationwide Injunctions, Birthright Citizenship

Supreme Court heard oral arguments in relation to Trump adminโ€™s request to lift nationwide injunctions placed on presidentโ€™s birthright citizenship order.

Federal Judge Blocks Trumpโ€™s Order to Strip Foreign Service Bargaining Rights

Judge temporarily blocked President Trumpโ€™s order stripping foreign service workers of collective bargaining rights, granting a preliminary injunction.

New Era of โ€˜Supply Shocksโ€™ Could Force Higher Long-Term Interest Rates, Says Powell

A period of supply disruptions may reshape the U.S. economy, leading to unstable inflation and sustained higher interest rates, says Chair Jerome Powell.

FTC Warns StubHub Over Apparent Failure to List Total Price of Tickets

Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, the FTC sent a letter to StubHub calling for strict compliance with the agencyโ€™s new Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.

Supreme Court Rules 9โ€“0 That Excessive Force Lawsuit May Proceed Against Police Officer

Supreme Court ruled that the mother of a man killed by police during a traffic stop may pursue a civil rights lawsuit against the officer who shot him.

Supreme Court Wrestles With Nationwide Injunctions in Birthright Citizenship Case

Supreme Court grappled with how far federal judges could go in issuing sweeping blocks on policies such as Trumpโ€™s order restricting birthright citizenship.

Lawsuit Alleges Musk, Election PAC Failed to Pay Swing State Petition Signers

Lawsuit filed against Musk and his PAC accuses them of failing to pay registered voters in swing states for signing petition supporting candidate Trump.

Trump Weighs In on Supreme Court Case Involving Birthright Citizenship

President Trump weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments in a case involving his order to limit birthright citizenship.
spot_img

Related Articles