The medical infosphere has a pollution problem. Misinformation is becoming one of healthcare’s greatest public threats. We’ve seen this recently with COVID-19 and over the long run with vaccine advocacy. But yelling back is unlikely to change minds. Spend some time watching the sharpest vaccine advocates. Despite personal attacks they laser drop ... Continue Reading about The Solution to Pollution is Not More Pollution
Facebook and Twitter Fight Coronavirus Misinformation
With the emerging global public health crisis Facebook has initiated coordinated measures to control the spread of coronavirus misinformation. Below are select clips from Facebook’s recent press release, Keeping People Safe and Informed About the Coronavirus, detailing their initiative. Twitter has undertaken similar efforts to ensure that reliable health information ... Continue Reading about Facebook and Twitter Fight Coronavirus Misinformation
Anti-vaccine Attack on TikTok – Is Facebook Complicit?
Following a post last week about the benefits of immunization, Ohio pediatrician Nicole Baldwin became the target of a coordinated anti-vaccine attack on TikTok, Facebook and even her office. Her story then became the subject of mainstream media news. Of course, physicians as targets of the anti-vaccine mob is not new. Bloggers and early era social media ... Continue Reading about Anti-vaccine Attack on TikTok – Is Facebook Complicit?
Wakefield in the White House
After the Cleveland Clinic Vaccine kerfuffle I was interviewed by a reporter at the Cleveland Plains Dealer. She wanted to know why there was such a backlash against the comments of The Clinic doctor. It wasn’t an issue of new science, I suggested, but new voices. The doctors finally showed up. Pediatricians, for example, now number in the thousands on ... Continue Reading about Wakefield in the White House
Lessons from the Cleveland Clinic Vaccine Debacle
This week saw the anti-vaccine rant of Cleveland Clinic executive physician, Daniel Neides. Taking to the public space to air his ignorance of basic vaccine science, he met the wrath of a vibrant community of public physicians. Eric Boodman at STATnews did a nice job covering the details. Here are a few takeaways: Every health care professional is the voice of his ... Continue Reading about Lessons from the Cleveland Clinic Vaccine Debacle
The Original Measles Storyteller – Paul Offit
The measles story is amazing. A deadly disease once in check brought back to life by vaccine fear. Every media outlet in the world is desperate to tell the story. Before measles was newsworthy, the original storyteller was Dr. Paul Offit. He was evangelizing when it wasn’t popular. And he realized his share of traffic. But it wasn’t the kind of attention any ... Continue Reading about The Original Measles Storyteller – Paul Offit