Samoa was on the brink of crisis. Vaccine rates had plummeted measles was spreading globally. Kennedy and CHD chief informatics officer (the doc behind a notoriously bad study in the U.S.) went with an offer: a data system that would track the outcome of unvaxxed vs vaxxed kids.
As measles spread, RFK Jr. coordinated with a local anti-vaccine activist—connecting him with a group of anti-vaxx doctors in the U.S. to treat Samoa’s sick children with unproven cures. As hospitals filled with dying children, Kennedy's group promoted vitamins over vaccines.
Kennedy is obsessed with these studies. He wrote a book arguing for more, calling ethical concerns “a sham.” He consistently ignores the many good studies that have been done and relies on bad and retracted research from anti-vaxxers. tinyurl.com/39taxurf
Samoa declined Kennedy's offer, and learned the hard way what happens when kids aren't vaccinated. What can it tell us about what, as HHS Secretary, he will do when vaccine rates fall & infectious disease spreads? Confirmation hearings next week. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/r…
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For the last many months, I've been watching a Russian propaganda operation that researchers call Storm 1516, poring over the work of what is in effect, a disinformation production company. nbcnews.com/specials/russi…
It’s basically the notorious Internet Research Agency troll farm’s pivot to video. They rely on faked videos laundered through international news sources and influencers to reach a U.S. audience.
These videos, many featuring fake confessions and whistleblowers, are absurd, like the recent one from a park ranger claiming to have witnessed Kamala Harris kill a baby rhino on safari. They usually flop. nbcnews.com/specials/russi…
I think a lot about the '80s and the moral panics that characterized the time. It's no surprise that we've so recently fallen for this immigrants-are-eating-the-pets rumor, a lie often rooted in racism and fear. And one that only aids hate groups. nbcnews.com/tech/internet/…
Yesterday, I got served up this trending video on X. According to Grok, this guy was a member of Hamas, threatening the Olympics in Paris. I watched the video and thought, Hey, I think I know that guy! nbcnews.com/tech/misinform…
The uniform, the voice, the gray wall behind him, even the words … I had seen this guy in a video from October, included in this Clemson paper about a Russian disinformation campaign, from @DarrenLinvill and @plwarre.
The October video was a fake - in it the fake Hamas actor was thanking Zelensky for sending weapons – a claim without evidence – propaganda meant to weaken western support for Ukraine. This time, they were focused on the Olympics, with fake propaganda meant to create fear around the threat of violence at the Games, a goal outlined by Microsoft in June.
New from me: Enid, Oklahoma elected a white nationalist to its City Council, igniting a fight for the soul of the city, one that united a coalition of its most progressive residents and divided its most conservative. Now voters will decide: Should he stay? nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Before he won a seat on the City Council, Judd Blevins was a leader in the now-defunct white power group, Identity Evropa. In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville at a rally where a civil rights activist was murdered. He’s never answered for it. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Over the last year, grandmothers and a priest in Enid have been branded antifa radicals and local organizers accused of attempted murder, while a national white power movement staked its claim on the city. What happens next, is up to voters. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/o…
Measles is surging in Europe and spreading in the US, so the anti-vaccine industry is brushing off its playbook to bring us the “this highly contagious disease is no big deal” play: measles edition. nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Here’s the president of Robert F. Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense (a lawyer not a doctor) last week:
According to actual doctors, measles is a miserable disease. Globally it killed 136,000 in 2022. At best for U.S. kids, it’s fever, flu symptoms and an itchy rash. At worst for every 1,000 cases, 200 are hospitalized, 50 get pneumonia, and 1-3 die.
New: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hires Del Bigtree, popular anti-vaccine activist, as his presidential campaign’s communications director. The latest evidence that RFK's presidential run is a dressed-up national anti-vaccine campaign. A few exclusive details: nbcnews.com/politics/2024-…
I got the newest 990s from Bigtree's nonprofit. 2022 was a banner year. The group brought in $13.4 mil and Bigtree got a big raise, bringing his salary to $284,000. It's unclear how this new post will affect the nonprofit, which is prohibited from engaging in political activity.
If you don't know Bigtree — he's quite the character.