Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digestâs primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here.
Social media urged to block antivax âsuperspreaders.â Antivax networks promote a âmaster narrativeâ with three false messages: (1) COVID-19 is not dangerous; (2) COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous; and (3) vaccine advocates cannot be trusted. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has produced three superb reports about the spread of this misinformation through social media:
- The Anti-Vaxx Industry: How Big Tech powers and profits from vaccine misinformation exposes how the global scientific consensus on vaccines is being undermined by a small but determined and sophisticated network of individuals and groups who spread misinformation online.
- Failure to Act: How Tech Giants Continue to Defy Calls to Rein in Vaccine Misinformation notes that even when users reported misinformation to the platforms, fewer than 1 in 20 misinformation posts were removed.
- The Anti-Vaxx Playbook reveals how anti-vaccine networks are systematically planning to exploit social media to suppress the use of COVID-19 vaccines. It concludes:
-
- Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of reach. There is no justification for Facebook or others to continue undermining the attempts to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines by enabling lies to reach millions.
- The 10 antivaxxers with the largest cross-platform followings make up the majority of the total audience for antivaxxers online. These are the âsuperspreadersâ of antivax misinformation.
- The best way to prevent people from falling for misinformation is to prevent them from seeing it in the first place using a strategy called deplatforming.
- Prominent antivaxxers should be removed from their platforms.
The CCDH is a non-profit organization that seeks to disrupt the architecture of online hate and misinformation. [Barrett S. Social media urged to block antivax “superspreaders.” Quackwatch, Jan 15, 2021]
Sellers ordered to stop promoting vitamin D products as COVID-19 treatments. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia has entered a permanent injunction barring Matthew Ryncarz and companies he operates from selling unapproved vitamin D products touted as treatments for COVID-19 and other diseases. [Court orders Georgia defendants to stop selling vitamin D products as treatments for COVID-19 and other diseases. US DOJ news release, Jan 8, 2021] The injunction also permanently bans the defendants from selling or distributing dietary supplements containing hordenine HCl, which the FDA regards as an unsafe food additive. [Coronavirus (COVID-19) update. FDA news release, Jan 8, 2021] Court documents alleged that the defendants:
- sold through websites several products that purportedly contained vitamin D3, such as âImmune Shot,â âImmune Boost,â and âCore,â none of which were generally recognized as safe or effective by qualified experts for the promoted uses
- made disease-related treatment claims that lacked support from any well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific evidence
In September 2020, in a separate but related criminal case, Ryncarz and one of his companies pleaded guilty and admitted that labeling for the âImmune Shotâ was falsely claimed to lower the risk of contracting COVID-19 and was misbranded under federal law. The FDA had previously warned the company that its marketing was illegal.
âIntuition-based medicineâ promoter Christiane Northrup profiled. Christiane Northrup, M.D., is an obstetrician-gynecologist who was boosted by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. A profile published by the McGill Office for Science and Society states that Northrup:
- has 149,000 followers on Instagram and over half a million fans on her Facebook page where she promoted the propaganda video âPlandemic”
- addresses tens of thousands of followers nightly in ten-minute videos that promote magical beliefs
- promotes COVID-19 conspiracies
- is prominent in the anti-vaccine movement
- discourages COVID-19 preventive measures
- recommends pseudoscientists, health gurus, and discredited news sources
- wants her fans to trust their intuition above all else and reject what doesnât feel right
- considers the analytical part of the brain that asks for evidence to be bad
[Jarry J. The doctor Carl Sagan warned us about. McGill Office for Science and Society, Jan 8, 2021]
Accreditation of Society of Homeopaths suspended. The United Kingdomâs Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for Health and Social Care has suspended the accreditation of the Society of Homeopaths (SoH) for failing to meet conditions set by the Authority during 2020. The suspension will be reviewed after 12 months. The Authorityâs Review of Conditions states:
The Authority found that the SoH did not appear to have prioritised public protection over professional interests in its handling of complaints or governance processes, which undermined confidence in its ability to ensure its registrants were compliant with its own Code of Ethics and position statements. This led to risks to the public from homeopathy being offered as an alternative for serious conditions such as depression, arthritis and autoimmune conditions that require medical supervision.
In 2019, the Good Thinking Society brought a legal challenge to SoH’s accreditation after SoH members promoted anti-vaccine misinformation and claimed to cure autism via CEASE therapy. The case was withdrawn after the PSA imposed strict conditions upon the SoH in early 2020. However, in April 2020, Good Thinking reported that registrants of the Society of Homeopaths were selling homeopathic remedies aimed at treating COVID-19. In July, Good Thinking revealed that the SoH had appointed as âProfessional Standards and Safeguarding Leadâ Sue Pilkington, a homeopath who had repeatedly shared anti-vaccine misinformation despite conditions imposed upon the SoH for failing to tackle anti-vaccine propaganda among its membership. This prompted an emergency review by the PSA, leading to Ms. Pilkingtonâs immediate dismissal. The review also led to requirements that SoH failed to meet, which resulted in its suspension. [Marshall M. Professional Standards Authority suspends the Society of Homeopaths. Good Thinking news release, Jan 11, 2021]
5G fact sheet available. The Center for Inquiry has posted a web page and downloadable fact sheet with three key messages:
- 5G wireless communication technology is not inherently harmful. Fundamentally, it is no different from existing wireless technology.
- The preponderance of evidence shows that wireless technology is safe.
- Science-based regulations for wireless technology are still crucial to health and safety.
2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007
2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012 || 2013 || 2014
2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || 2021
2022 || 2023 || 2024 || 2025
To subscribe, click here.
