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David Gorski, MD, PhD

30 Apr, 10 tweets, 5 min read

https://twitter.com/RMCarpiano/status/1387960353682649089

I've been warning about the likelihood of antivaxxers arming themselves and becoming violent for years. Now it appears to be on the verge of happening, with "Mamalitia." 1/

https://twitter.com/RMCarpiano/status/1387960353682649089

The receipts begin. Five years ago, I first started becoming concerned about the increasingly violent rhetoric and imagery used by the antivaccine movement. 2/ respectfulinsolence.com/2015/12/03/the…

@DrWakefield

With the release of @DrWakefield and @delbigtree's antivaccine propaganda movie disguised as a documentary @vaxxedthemovie in 2016, the violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement intensified. 3/ respectfulinsolence.com/2016/07/19/the…

@delbigtree

When called out on it, antivaxxers like @delbigtree try to maintain plausible deniability...badly. 4/ respectfulinsolence.com/2016/07/20/the…

Of course, long before I first noticed the truly disturbing violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement, but the many years of likening school vaccine mandates to the Holocaust had laid the groundwork. 5/ respectfulinsolence.com/2017/05/17/the…

Less than a year before the pandemic hit, antivaxxers were already ramping up their violent rhetoric even more. 6/ respectfulinsolence.com/2019/05/03/vio…

@DrPanMD

Then in the summer of 2019, the violent rhetoric got closer to actual violence when an antivaxxer shoved @DrPanMD on the streets of Sacramento. 7/ respectfulinsolence.com/2019/08/22/aus…

It's not at all surprising now that the #COVID19 pandemic and the mass campaign to persuade people to accept #COVIDVaccine have taken the preexisting spark of radicalism in the antivaccine movement and started to fan it into a flame. 8/

I've been warning about the potential for violence by antivaxxers for more than 5 years now. Few listened then. Some even pooh-poohed my warnings, downplayed them. I hope people will listen now. 9/9

Forgot to mention. The statement by the leader of "Mamalitia" that ""public health is public enemy #1" is very consistent with what I've been saying about antivaxxers all along. It's not just vaccines. Antivaxxers oppose ALL public health measures. 10/10 respectfulinsolence.com/2020/12/02/ant…

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More from @gorskon

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

28 Apr

Seeing antivaxxers try to use the existence of breakthrough cases of #COVID19 after #CovidVaccine as some sort of slam-dunk proof that the vaccines don't work is causing flashbacks to antivaxxers claiming that MMR doesn't work because some kids get measles after being vaccinated.

Truly, everything old is new again. I (and my fellow vaccine advocates) have been warning that antivaxxers would use this tactic to demonize #CovidVaccine for months now, as well as others. None of the disinformation techniques used by antivaxxers is a surprise to us.

Basically, no vaccine is 100% effective. There will always be vaccine failures. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are nearly as effective against #COVID19 as MMR is against measles, but none of these vaccines has perfect effectiveness.

Read 4 tweets

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

15 Apr

@AAPSonline

This explains a lot. I like to refer to it as the cult of the brave maverick doctor. @AAPSonline epitomizes this attitude that EBM-based doctors are “sheep” following the “herd.”

https://twitter.com/JHowardBrainMD/status/1382527488258146304

Here’s a hint. Andrew Wakefield is a brave maverick doctor. So is Scott Atlas. Stanislaw Burzynski is a brave maverick doctor too. Jay Bhattacharya of #GreatBarringtonDeclaration has revealed himself to be a brave maverick doctor. 2/

Brave mavericks are contrarians. Occasionally (very occasionally) they can be correct, but far more often they are not. They often have a tendency to stray further and further from God science in pursuit of being a maverick. 3/

Read 7 tweets

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

10 Apr

@GYamey

@GYamey Interesting question. After all, you'd think that a safe and effective vaccine would be appealing to them as a tool to end the pandemic faster without lockdowns or business restrictions, wouldn't you?

@GYamey

@GYamey I think the issue of why #GreatBarringtonDeclaration cranks and @aier have gone full anti-#CovidVaccine and now even antivax is simple. It's a matter of invoking the bogeyman of "tyranny." 2/

@GYamey

@GYamey @aier Here's what I mean. The whole reason #GreatBarringtonDeclaration and @aier are so against public health interventions to slow the spread of #COVID19 is based on "freedom" and a resentment of anything that they see infringing on that "freedom," particularly business "freedom." 3/

Read 8 tweets

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

6 Apr

@PostOpinions

WTF, @PostOpinions? Publishing an article demonizing pollution by pesticides (specifically glyphosate) by two major antivaxxers? I mean, seriously, Stephanie Seneff and Jennifer Margulis? 1/ washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

Jennifer Margulis is a rising star in the antivaccine movement. 2/ respectfulinsolence.com/2018/04/25/jen…

Stephanie Seneff, for her part, has published risibly bad studies blaming vaccines for autism. 3/ respectfulinsolence.com/2012/11/20/dum…

Read 7 tweets

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

4 Apr

https://twitter.com/drjohnm/status/1378472685760577536

Whenever I see anyone describing those countering medical disinformation as “tribal,” those spreading misinformation as “thinking for themselves” or “encouraging thought,” and the process of countering disinformation as “debate,” I know I’m not dealing with a serious argument. 1/

https://twitter.com/drjohnm/status/1378472685760577536

Indeed, whether he realizes it or not, John’s portrayal of the situation with respect to #COVID19 disinformation is EXACTLY the same portrayal of vaccine advocates I’ve seen from antivaxxers going back to when I first noticed that there were antivaxxers. 2/

Antivaxxers love to portray themselves as iconoclasts, as “thinking for themselves,” all while portraying science advocates as close-minded and tribal and their efforts as “fostering thought and debate.” So do quacks. So do climate science deniers. 3/

Read 6 tweets

David Gorski, MD, PhD

@gorskon

4 Apr

https://twitter.com/GYamey/status/1378703269594300420

What most pundits, scientists, and doctors don't realize is that this is not a new alliance. Rather, it's the fruition of an effort by antivaxxers to court the far right. It started by portraying school vaccine mandates as an unacceptable government assault on "freedom." 1/

https://twitter.com/GYamey/status/1378703269594300420

@iamsambee

Contrary to the view of many who always thought that the antivax movement was all hippy dippy crunchy lefties, antivax beliefs have always been roughly equally prevalent on the right and the left. Even @iamsambee got this wrong years ago. 2/ respectfulinsolence.com/2014/06/04/the…

Indeed, there has long been a strong right-wing conspiratorial wing of the antivaccine movement, dating back at least to the John Birch Society. Anyone ever hear of General Bert Stubblebine III’s Natural Solutions Foundation? 3/

Read 24 tweets

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