Consumer Health Digest, Issue #24-08

February 25, 2024
  • Galantamine supplements found to be inaccurately labeled.
  • NewsGuard identifies over 300 false vaccine-related internet narratives.
  • Promoting COVID-19 misinformation found to be lucrative for four nonprofits.

Galantamine supplements found to be inaccurately labeled. Galantamine is a plant alkaloid available in the United States as either a prescription medication (FDA-approved for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease) or as a dietary supplement. Last year, researchers purchased and then conducted laboratory analyses of:

  • all 11 immediate-release generic drug formulations available in the U.S. by prescription and labeled as containing 4, 8, or 12 mg of galantamine per tablet or capsule
  • all 10 brands of dietary supplements available in the U.S. on Amazon.com. All were labeled with galantamine as an ingredient and had a Supplement Facts panel. The labels said the product contained 4, 6, 8, or 12 mg of galantamine per serving

The researchers found all 11 generic drugs contained galantamine within 10% of the labeled quantity and none were contaminated with microorganisms. In contrast, only one of the 10 dietary supplements contained galantamine within 10% of the labeled quantity. That product’s label claimed it was a “memory optimizer.” The galantamine content of the other nine supplements ranged from less than 1.6% to 75.4% of the labeled amount. Three of the supplements were contaminated with Bacillus cereus sens stricto-encoding enterotoxin genes, suggesting a lack of quality control but not an expected risk of adverse effects. The labels of eight supplements included claims for various types of mental-performance enhancement.

Calling for reform of laws regulating dietary supplements to ensure accurate labeling, the researchers noted:

For patients with Alzheimer’s disease, use of galantamine supplements instead of generic galantamine may adversely affect their care. Furthermore, the sale of inaccurately labeled galantamine supplements promoted for nonspecific memory and other cognitive problems is concerning given the lack of proven efficacy, potential drug–drug interactions, and adverse effects


[Cohen P. and others. Accuracy of labeling of galantamine generic drugs and dietary supplements. JAMA, Feb 23, 2024]

NewsGuard identifies over 300 false vaccine-related internet narratives. NewsGuard’s healthcare information team has identified more than 300 vaccine-related false narratives circulating on the internet, shared by more than 4,300 websites, other news sources, and social media accounts. Prominent promoters of the false narratives include Natural News, the National Vaccine Information Center, U.K.-based Principia Scientific, and NaturallyFTW.com. The myths NewsGuard noted included:

  • “Fibrous blood clots reported by embalmers are proof of widespread deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines” (spread by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense)
  • “AstraZeneca and Sanofi’s nirsevimab shot against RSV led to rise in newborn deaths in France” (promoted in a December 2023 blogpost and January 2024 video posted on Crowdbunker by French pharmacologist HĂ©lĂšne Banoun, who has advanced multiple falsehoods about vaccines)
  • “Zombie deer disease cases linked to vaccine program funded by Mark Zuckerberg” (promoted in a Jan. 1, 2024 post on Instagram by Kashif Khan)
  • “Canadian study proves that COVID-19 vaccines killed 17 million people” (originated in September 2023, but resurfaced due to a Jan. 5, 2024 Tucker Carlson interview which, as of January 31, had 34,000 reposts and 81,000 likes on X)

NewsGuard claims healthcare misinformation is published on two-thirds of all the news and information websites it has rated as untrustworthy since 2018. [NewsGuard reports more than 300 vaccine-related false narratives now spreading online. NewsGuard, Feb 7, 2024]

NewsGuard has provided detailed vaccine-related debunkings including:

[The misinformation pandemic: Over 300 vaccine myths and counting. NewsGuard’s Reality Check, Feb 19, 2024]

Promoting COVID-19 misinformation found to be lucrative for four nonprofits. An analysis of tax records has revealed four nonprofits that rose to prominence during the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing on the spread of medical misinformation. Together, they gained more than $118 million between 2020 and 2022. The organizations were:

  • Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., that received $23.5 million in contributions, grants, and other revenue in 2022 alone—eight times what it collected the year before the pandemic began—allowing it to expand its state-based lobbying operations to cover half the country
  • Informed Consent Action Network which nearly quadrupled its revenue during that time to about $13.4 million in 2022, giving it the resources to finance lawsuits seeking to roll back vaccine requirements as Americans’ faith in vaccines dropped
  • Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance and America’s Frontline Doctors, which went from receiving $1 million combined when they formed in 2020 to collecting more than $21 million combined in 2022

Through the use of ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer—a database of charitable organizations’ IRS filings—two donor-advised funds were identified that contributed to the misinformation-promoting organizations. The National Christian Foundation, which on its website describes itself as working with donors to be a “good steward of all God has entrusted to you,” channeled more than $1.8 million in total to the four groups from 2020 through 2022. DonorsTrust, which calls itself a “principled philanthropic partner for conservative and libertarian donors,” contributed $1 million in total to Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, America’s Frontline Doctors, and Informed Consent Action Network in 2021 and 2022. [Weber L. Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation. The Washington Post, Feb 21, 2024]

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; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.


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