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

Contact Your Elected Officials

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 — 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 “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.”

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.

James Franklin’s contract fallout

Penn State’s decision to fire head coach James Franklin after a disappointing 22–21 home loss to Northwestern will cost an estimated $56 million buyout. 

Trump’s Middle East Trip Led to Historic Breakthroughs

Trump’s bold, unconventional strategy helped end the Israel-Hamas war and set the stage for a more stable, prosperous Middle East.

Pretending Really Hard

The world is real and so are its problems, too. Reality is the enemy of liberals, even though they are pretending, really hard, that it is not.

Trump 2.0’s Eurasian Balancing Act Has Failed

Trump's Eurasian balancing act has failed due to his arrogant and aggressive approach towards all three countries.

Should Palestinian clans rebelling against Hamas be given Gaza?

Hamas’s October 7 attack exposed its violent ideology, showing cruelty toward its enemies and also against the Palestinian people it claims to defend.

AI Is a ‘Real and Mysterious Creature,’ Not a Predictable Machine, Anthropic Co-Founder Warns

Handling AI is like dealing with “a real and mysterious creature, not a predictable machine,” said Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, at a Berkeley conference.

Trump, Patel Confirm FBI Special Agents Will Get Paid During Shutdown

FBI special agents will receive their paychecks despite the government shutdown, according to President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Trump Admin Withholds $41 Million From California Over English-Language Trucking Rules

Trump admin withholds $40.6M in California transportation funds, citing failure to meet federal English proficiency rules for truck drivers.

An Inconvenient Study – Feature Film

Journalist Del Bigtree challenged a top infectious disease expert in 2016 to a vaxxed vs. unvaxxed study. The long-hidden results are finally revealed.

Trump Posthumously Awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the White House Rose Garden on Oct 14, Charlie's birthday.

Trump Names Longtime Adviser Dan Scavino to Key Personnel Position

One of President Trump’s longtime advisers, Dan Scavino, is going to be in charge of selecting and appointing key positions within the executive branch.

First Lady’s Effort Helped Reunite 8 War-Displaced Children With Their Families

First lady Melania Trump said 8 children impacted by the fighting between Ukraine and Russia were reunited with their families on Oct. 9.

Trump to Impose New 100 Percent Tariff on China on Nov. 1

President Trump said that the US will impose an additional 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods and export controls on critical software starting on Nov. 1.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central