Thread by @ubc_students

For almost a year now, folks like us have been providing evidence of the strong links between the COVID skeptics/anti-maskers/anti-vaxxers and neo-Nazis.

And then folks like Chris Shaw have come rushing to defend them and call us "the real fascists."

But who is Chris Shaw? 1/15

Christopher A. Shaw is a professor in @UBCmedicine.

Yes, that's @UBC's Faculty of Medicine. In the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

His listed research interest is simply "Paralympics."

And he has a long history in the anti-vax movement. 2/15

In 2011, Shaw co-authored two studies with Lucija Tomljenovic linking vaccines and autism — a link that has been widely debunked and condemned as stigmatizing to people on the spectrum.

The World Health Organization called both studies "seriously flawed." 3/15

From Wikipedia: "Shaw has received nearly $900,000 in research funding from the Dwoskin Family Foundation and the Katlyn Fox Foundation, both of which question the safety of vaccines."

UBC has publicly defended Shaw's work and his funding. 4/15

But when the Dwoskin Family Foundation folded, co-founder Albert Dwoskin recanted.

"After seeing a great deal of evidence, I have concluded that concerns about the safety of vaccination are unfounded," he told The Daily Beast. 5/15

Dwoskin: "The best way to protect children is to make sure they have all their vaccinations as recommended by scientists, doctors and other healthcare professionals."

The other org is named after Katlyn Fox, who died of sudden infant death syndrome months after a vaccine. 6/15

The Katlyn Fox Foundation website links to additional groups and individuals that have spent *decades* spreading vaccine misinformation — and, more recently, COVID misinformation.

These include Vaccine Choice Canada (mentioned in the Facebook convo above) and Del Bigtree. 7/15

Vaccine Choice Canada spreads the myth that COVID is no worse than the flu, argues a vaccine is unnecessary and has sued to strike down public health measures like mandatory mask-wearing.

It has also partnered with Hugs Over Masks, who rally at the art gallery every Sunday. 8/15

Again, anti-mask rallies have centered white supremacist, antisemitic, and neo-Nazi activists and conspiracy theorists from the very beginning.

This includes Hugs Over Masks founder Vladislav Sobolev and organizer Odessa Orlewicz.

But Shaw thinks *we* are the fascists. 9/15

Journalist @SpinelessL describes Hugs Over Masks as "a conspiracy theory dumpster fire" and "pretty much a Canadian spin-off of QAnon."

The group was part of that two-day "Mega Rally" at the VAG back in October. Take a look at who else they invited. 10/15 antihate.ca/antisemitic_co…

Anyway, these are the people UBC med school professor Chris Shaw is defending.

He also appeared in a video by Freedom Free For All, a platform for white nationalist conspiracy theories. Local fascist Donald Smith contributes footage, but the channel is banned from YouTube. 11/15

More from FFFA's Adam Blainey: "They revel in the fact that goyim are weak and pathetic and won’t stand up for their race... We need to kill these traitors and since we don’t they will get away with their plan." 12/15 antihate.ca/canadian_podca…

Shaw claims to be a leftist, but also suggests "a Third Way."

Is he talking about neoliberal centrism, or neofascist Third Positionism? rationalwiki.org/wiki/Third_Pos… 13/15

As for Shaw's academic record, three papers he co-authored with Tomljenovic have been retracted in the past five years — including one in a predatory fee-based journal. 14/15 retractionwatch.com/2018/01/30/sec…

As the pandemic drags on and vaccines start being rolled out, there are lots of questions to answer.

Has Shaw been involved in anti-mask organizing? What does @UBCmedicine think of him siding with conspiracy theorists? Does @UBC still stand behind him and his work? 15/15

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