Countless charlatans are fleecing people worldwide. It’s nothing new. But now it seems that most of these assholes have a Facebook page.
This is my second go at this. I received an overwhelming response to my first collection of Facebook pages, but that list was hardly comprehensive.
Last year, my mother was suffering migraines all day, every day. It was a severe form of light sensitivity. This retired R.N. was willing to try any treatment to make the pain go away. She hoped that acupuncture might help, and it did not. She tried a very expensive, imported headband thing that tingled her head nerves. Nada. Her doctors supported her desperate desire to try alternative treatments.
But lucky for my mom, her doctors also prescribed meds that had a proven history of helping others. They experimented a bit with dosage, and tried alternating drugs. They tailored a treatment that proved effective for her. Slowly, she built up a tolerance of light that is nearly back to normal. Thanks to modern medicine and caring doctors, she suffers very rarely now.
I write these lists because I care about people. People who are opting out of effective medical treatments that actually reduce suffering and save lives. People who are spending thousands on “alternative” treatments and “natural” remedies that work no better than a sugar pill. People who fret that certain foods will kill you. Children who are suffering and dying from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Bad, nasty people are encouraging needless fear from good people, in order to pick their wallets.
So here are another ten pages not to share from:
#10 Billy DeMoss
Facebook fans: 14K
What He Says About Himself
A bunch of stuff in a 33-second promo video that looks like this:
What He Really Does
Billy DeMoss is a chiropractor who creams himself over any government conspiracy story.
He’s so anti-vax that he treats unvaccinated children like they are the unsullied, the untainted (and the rest by inference are polluted.)
He also twists the spines of newborns and feels good about it.
Oh, and he insists on writing it: chiropracTIC.
Recent Ridiculousness
Once you’ve started shouting about chemtrails, you may as well wear the tinfoil hat too. The Illuminati will be ramming your door and seizing your guns any day now.
These chemtrail guys are even more hilarious when they mistake ordinary cirrus clouds for government mind-control geoengineering.
There couldn’t be any simple explanation for crisscrossing contrails. Except maybe typical flight patterns near an airport.
Sample Fan Comment
Ice crystals bum me out too, dude.
Bonus Post
Yup, 9/11 Truther. It was really hard to pick between this one and the Agenda 21 post.
#9 Modern Alternative Mama
Facebook fans: 56K
What She Says About Herself
“Encouraging and empowering information on raising a healthy family, naturally.”
What She Really Does
Kate Tietje writes as the voice of alternative mothering, which in her mind means rejecting all modern technology except for Facebook.
She also wants to sell you books and sponsored products. Oh, and she wants to give you tips on homemaking.
Recent Ridiculousness
Kate makes the claim that birth is one of the least evidence-based fields. It is unclear whether she means that there’s little research in the field of childbirth, or that the people that help us have babies ignore all the evidence. Either way, it’s a baldfaced lie she’s parroting from other mom bloggers.
When she says “we”, she means the United States. She makes a huge, mistaken leap in suggesting that medical intervention in birth causes poor outcomes. And when she urges mothers to embrace natural options, she is part of a trend to instill a fear of hospital childbirth. So what happens when families have babies at home instead? “[A] tripling of the neonatal mortality rate.”
To make matters worse, the article headline is misleading. The content of the article does not support the notion that vaginal birth is the best option for breech birth. It simply states that Canada is making an effort to teach more of its doctors how to handle breech births vaginally. And it does nothing to support the Kate’s fear-mongering in her commentary.
Sample Fan Comment
Hey, American mom who probably didn’t read the article. It is from 2009, and it is about Canada.
Bonus Post
And of course, Kate’s anti-vax.
#8 National Vaccine Information Center
Facebook fans: 125K
What They Say About Themselves
“We are now 124,800 Fans strong!!! Think Globally but Act Locally! Visit www.NVIC.ORG today! Your health. Your family. Your choice!”
What They Really Do
Probably the biggest distributer of disinformation about vaccines in the United States.
Recent Ridiculousness
Wow, that’s really scary. But it’s by an MIT researcher, so sounds legit.
Except that Stephanie Seneff, PhD‘s specialty is in computer science, not epidemiology or biochemistry, or anything like that. Increasing rates in the diagnosis of autism is due to changing diagnostic criteria, and nothing more. There is not a single scrap of evidence that glyphosate has a causal relationship with autism.
Sample Fan Comment
You’ve got the Lethal Dosage (LD50) all wrong, Facebook commenter. Glyphosate has a toxicity at 5,600 milligrams per kilogram, which is safer than table salt and baking soda.
Facebook fear-mongers love to throw around the meaningless term “endocrine disruptors” to sound like they know what they are talking about. Please, tell us the mechanism by which the trace amounts of glyphosate that humans ingest might disrupt our endocrine systems.
If cancer is the #1 killer of kids now (it’s not), then it’s only because vaccine-preventable diseases have left the competition.
TL;DR version: citations, please.
Bonus Post
The history of the pertussis vaccine is complex, but it is hardly failed. The research effort is ongoing, to achieve the level of effectiveness of the earlier vaccine while maintaining safety. More doses means the current vaccine is short-lived, not ineffective.
And yeah, that’s not the definition of insanity. And Einstein never said that.
Stop trying to kill babies, NVIC.
#7 Freelee the Banana Girl
Facebook fans: 132K
What She Says About Herself
“I‘ve lost over 40lbs on the raw till 4 lifestyle. Watch my YouTube videoshttp://www.youtube.com/user/Freelea/videos”
What She Really Does
Leanne Ratcliffe eats a shocking amount of fruit (including 30 bananas a day–3150 calories), and little else. She promotes a meal plan she calls Raw Till 4. She calls herself a health guru. She promotes her lifestyle with testimonials rather than evidence, in between ass selfies on Facebook.
But no hard feelings, bananas. I ate one of you today.
Recent Ridiculousness
If you eat meat and dairy, you deserve to die, according to Freelee. All of you. It’s not just enough to admire her for being a vegan. She doesn’t want to kill you personally, but she thinks you deserve to die. You must be forced to be a vegan.
Sample Fan Comment
Lovely.
Bonus Post
“Freelee, I’m doing what you say and I keep gaining weight!”
“That’s good, keep it up!”
#6 Dr. Tenpenny on Vaccines
Facebook fans: 134K
What She Says About Herself
“The Voice of Reason about Vaccines”
What She Really Does
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny uses quite unreasonable fear tactics to dissuade parents from vaccinating their children. She’s an osteopathic doctor who doesn’t understand how research is done. She also has no background in infectious disease or immunology. Because she rejects the idea that microbes cause disease (germ theory).
Recent Ridiculousness
Are you fucking kidding me. What the fuck is wrong with you, Sherri?
Sample Fan Comment
I “get” that you don’t have the ability to discern the trauma of rape, from the desire of civilized people to not have their children suffer and die.
Bonus Post
Implying that adult autistics would be nonverbal in diapers and helmets, is pretty fucking offensive. And truly displays her ignorance. Shame on you, Sherri.
Yet she has no shame, as this was the second time she posted it. For the views and shares.
Every vaccine-preventable disease causes harm, every single one. Especially measles.
#5 GreenMedInfo.com
Facebook fans: 265K
What They Say About Themselves
“GreenMedInfo.com Is The World’s Most Widely-Cited, Open-Access, Evidence-Based Natural Health Resource With 20,000+ Articles!“
What They Really Do
They ignore any science-based evidence in favor of quackery and marijuana. Anti-vax, anti-chemo, and anti-dentist, in favor of pointless (or dangerous) supplements and essential oils.
Recent Ridiculousness
All carbs get broken down in our bodies into glucose and fructose–it doesn’t matter the origin. And our cells need glucose to function. Sugar does not feed cancer cells any more than it feeds healthy cells. It definitely does not transform healthy cells into cancerous ones.
This is but one example of how GreenMedIno.com lies to readers about important health topics.
Sample Fan Comment
What in the who, now? You’re aware that animal cells and DNA don’t work that way. Right?
#4 REALfarmacy.com
Facebook fans: 443K
What They Say About Themselves
“Fresh News & Information ~ www.REALfarmacy.com”
What They Really Do
This is pretty much the twin of GreenMedInfo.com above. They think that in the past, people lived hundreds of years–so it’s modern technology and gluten that has reduced lifespans instead of increased them.
Recent Ridiculousness
These assholes want you to believe there’s a big conspiracy to hide life-saving cures between “Big Pharma” and the doctors who care for you.
There is no evidence that cholesterol level has a causative relationship with heart attack. But REALfarmacy and Dr. Jonathan V. Wright want you to believe that donating blood twice a year reduces your risk of heart attack by 75%, because something-something cholesterol.
Bloodletting worked out really well for George Washington.
Oh, and Dr. Wright has been in trouble with the FDA and other drug regulators for decades.
Beware of anyone who tries to convince that they can tell you “what ________ won’t tell you”. They’re picking your pocket while you tremble in fear.
Sample Fan Comment
Perhaps. And perhaps you have good genes.
#3 David (Avocado) Wolfe
Facebook fans: 822K
On April 13, it was 623K. On April 30, it was 723K. No page escalates a fanbase that fast without buying from a like farm.
What He Says About Himself
“Today is The Best Day Ever!”
What He Really Does
Make up all kinds of weird shit so he can sell you “superfood” supplements.
He makes you mistrust your own body processes, and only he has the secret “alchemical” ingredients to make it work right.
He’s a self-acclaimed “expert” without any sign of a relevant education.
Recent Ridiculousness
I see innocuous feel-good nonsense shared from David Wolfe’s page all the time. Most of the people sharing it don’t know how positively ridiculous he is.
Here he implies that medical doctors want to keep you sick in order to stay rich. Dead patients don’t pay medical bills.
This is absolutely repugnant, not to mention a fabrication without merit.
And it’s just douchey to like every one of your own posts.
Sample Fan Comment
Oh, lordy. I wouldn’t even know where to begin for this gish gallop.
Bonus Post
That’s not how nicotine works. That’s not even how sweat works.
#2 March Against Monsanto
Facebook fans: 851K
What They Say About Themselves
“Taking our planet back 5.23.15 [email protected]”
What They Really Do
March Against Monsanto does what it says on the label: protest against Monsanto agriculture company.
They frame Monsanto as the cause of many evils, which they aren’t. (Go ahead, call me shill. That’s the typical response to anyone sticking up for Monsanto.)
But they don’t stop there. They also monger the now-familiar fears about genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), vaccinations, “chemtrails”, sugar, dentistry, and the lot.
Recent Ridiculousness
They’ve linked to a blogger, who links to a group specifically established to find a link between cell phones and cancer. That’s not how science works. You don’t start with the conclusion and work your way back. You begin with a question.
P.S. There is no evidence that cell phones cause cancer.
Sample Fan Comment
YouTube videos, and testimonies to city commissions, do not qualify as scientific proof.
#1 Dr. Mehmet Oz
Facebook fans: 5.3M
What He Says About Himself
“Dr. Oz is host of the Daytime Emmy Award-winning The Dr. Oz Show, and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Informative Talk Show host two years in a row in 2010 and 2011. Dr. Oz is also a Professor of Surgery at Columbia University.”
What He Really Does
Oh, you already know who he is. Dr. Oz, that friendly doctor on teevee. But a few years ago, on the random occasion that I caught a few minutes of his show, I started noticing a pattern. A pattern of selling worthless fat loss secrets and of scaring people about evidence-based medicine.
He’s always been a weird one in the operating room, practicing pseudoscientific voodoo alongside his cardiac surgeries.
He’s just gotten more extreme now that he’s discovered how lucrative it can be on television. He regularly invites guests who are anti-science. This is irresponsible for a medical professional. Reckless, even. John Oliver did a killer evisceration of Oz.
Then he turns around and calls his critics shills.
Recent Ridiculousness
Case in point about anti-science guests. Mark Hyman, MD is the founder of something he calls “functional medicine.” It is a mish-mash of whatever bullshit people seem to gobble up readily, such as “detoxes” and autism cures.
This is but one example of the kind of content found on Oz’s show and Facebook page.
Sample Fan Comment
All hail the cult leader TV doctor!
So there are another ten Facebook pages I hope not to see on my own friend’s walls. What other science-illiterate pages would you include?
UPDATE June 25 2015: Ten Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From Part 3
117 replies on “Ten Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From Part 2”
I was disappointed to not see The Healthy Home Economist on either of these two lists. Guess you’ll have to make a third. Thank you for these! Been blocking them on my fb as they appear.
Healthy Home Economist is on the “for the future” list. There are 18 and counting on that list…
not to mention the photo that the National Vaccine Information Center is using in their post about the supposed relationship between autism and glyphosate is actually a photo of the herbicide, Lasso, which is an Alachlor not a glyphosate…
Wow, very good point.
Ugh, I wish you wouldn’t have made the freele the banana girl bit about vegans. There are many of us, vegans, that are horrified of her and her ridiculous claims and comments. It’s all about getting you to click on her channel/site to make money. She does not represent vegans or anything about us. You can be vegan and a scientist like myself and husband or you can be vegan and follow science based evidence and common sense, like many (most) vegans I know. There is so much BS being put out by Freele that one can choose from, starting with her zero education or qualifications. Please don’t confuse veganism (a lifestyle choice to cause the least harm to nonhumans AND by default, to human animals) with this vile, misguided attention seeker.
Julia, I understand. I didn’t actually say anything bad about vegans.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Julia! I am so sick and tired of vegans being lumped up with anti-vaccine, anti-GMO, etc. groups and/or individuals. Perhaps it might behoove many out there to actually practice some form of discernment.
Before attacking vegans and characterizing them as a bunch of brainwashed nitwits, please apprise yourselves (plural for all who think it’s ok, funny, witty, cool, etc. to engage in the oh so easy practice of taking pot shots at vegans) of the environmental damages caused by the ever expanding consumption of meat for example. Then, please go check out what’s going on in a slaughterhouse and/or a backyard amateurish operation.
Again, thank you, Julia.
No Food Babe? Not sure if MindBodyGreen or NaturalNews have Facebook pages but they are both horrible.
Shelley, you can find MindBodyGreen above. Food Babe and Natural News were featured in my previous post: http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from/
I was disappointed not to see Dr. Joseph Mercola, a modern day snake-oil salesman. Did you cover him in a previous post. He is dangerous.
He was #7 on my first list. 🙂 http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from/
But thanks for the heads up on these ones. I didn’t know of quite a few of them! (Perhaps a good thing)
Overall a great article, but I would like to somewhat correct one thing: the use of “autistic people” vs “people with autism”. In the autistic community, we do tend to use identity-first language, because we see autism as a core part of our lives, for both good and bad reasons. We see it as being like how you would say “gay person” or “woman” instead of “person with gayness” or “person with womanliness.” Of course, everyone has their own preferences.
But yeah, Tenpenny was definitely being pure trash. Also, those autistic adults? Her generation locked them away in insitutions.
So, I’m not the only one who doesn’t use that “person-first” language for those reasons…also autistic
For me, calling myself “autistic” instead of “having autism” has basically been claiming it as part of me, because fighting against it…didn’t work out so well in the beginning of my life
Good comment. I think these sites prey on everyone by giving an ‘answer’ where there might be none. Hats off to you to figuring out how to manage…
Also add Living Whole to that third list. The woman who runs that site is a pathological liar. Anti-vax, home birth, breastfeed only. http://pandce.proboards.com/thread/314007/megan-heimers-lies-falsifications-inaccuracies
I was all about this article until the claim that there’s no correlation between cholesterol and heart attack. I’m still just an incoming medical student, but that’s absolutely, positively not true, and the article linked to support that statement doesn’t even make that claim. The link says that in one study, heart attack victims had normal cholesterol levels. But there are many risk factors for heart attacks; it does not at all logically follow to conclude “therefore, cholesterol levels won’t affect your risk of heart attack.”
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/cardiovascular-conditions/Pages/high-cholesterol.aspx
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/resources/heart/heart-cholesterol-hbc-what-html
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/WhyCholesterolMatters/Why-Cholesterol-Matters_UCM_001212_Article.jsp
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocardial_infarction#Disease
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypercholesterolemia#Signs_and_symptoms
You can also find plenty of studies on Google Scholar to support a link between cholesterol and heart disease including heart attack.
I wanted to share this article, but I don’t feel like I can with that claim in it 🙁
You need to sharpen your critical reading skills. She said that there’s. I evidence of a causal relationship, not that there is no evidence of correlation. If you were one of my grad students, I’d take a point off right there.
Oops
Another great list and there are only two more I can think of: “Dr”. Josh Axe and Nutritarian Nancy. Nancy has a small following but jeez that lady is bat shit cray cray. Josh is another chiro who thinks autism can be cured by oils (he sells) and chiropractic care. He also is a “leaky gut” champion lol He has been on OZ a couple times and has been gaining popularity since then, When I was first banned from his page, he had around 200k likes, it is up to 300k now 🙁
You obviously did not even watch freelees video, she always makes controversial titles like that to get people to pay attention. She was talking about how it’s not fair that people who are raping the planet feel so entitled to it, like they deserve the earth to do with what they please. It’s irresponsible for you to lump veganism (anti-killing) in with Anti gmo(pro-hunger)/anti vaccine (pro-disease) bs. Because oh look at all the anti science hippies! Lolno. You’re not setting a very good example of doing your research.
As a registered nurse, nothing makes my skin crawl more than the NVIC or “medical doctors” who promote anti-vaccine agenda. Public health affects us all and choosing not to vaccinate is irresponsible; using your “medical” platform to encourage families to forgo the recommended vaccine schedule should be grounds for losing your medical license.
Nutritarian Nancy, PhD, CHNP, CNHP – her fb page is scary/bad/hilarious
and Wellness Mama, she’s the worst!
Others you might consider, if you don’t already have them on the list:
Nutritarian (not a typo!) Nancy
Kerri Rivera (truly despicable)
Pete Evans
I need help, I’m 19 years old and my dad is a conspiracy theorist, he seriously believes in EVERY small thing he reads on the internet about the government, chemtrails, vaccines and all of the above discussed subjects. He never shut’s up, saying that the world is about to enter a giant crisis and no one will be safe, he almost doesn’t let me live my life from fear that the world is about to end, but what is even worse is the fact that he doesn’t live his.
He is going to quit his job now and buy a house in the middle of nowhere where he can have a farm?? He wants to be able to sustain himself because he thinks the world wont last another 3 months. I mean, the idea would be pretty cool if it didn’t came out of pure fear.
I’ts just ridiculous and the worst thing is that I can’t tell him anything!! He thinks I’m the only person in the world who believes him, he thinks that everyone else thinks that he’s insane (wich might be slightly true). But I don’t think he is, I believe he can change.
Is there anything in the internet, any way I can help him? if so, please let me know.
My e-mail: [email protected]
Not to worry. My agents , I mean medical staff shall assist you in a place where you may check him into and then he’ll be fine. Just takes a few hrs. Thank you
Hey Dawn,
Such a good post. You’ve like spoken my mind… just in a much wittier and more interesting way..!
And chariactures, awesome.
Awesome stuff! Hopefully some of my more uncritical friends will learn something when the read this. Thank you!
This page was made in collaboration with Big-Pharma, Evil Drug companies, Monsanto and all the other things that people don’t think are true….
Is what people who believe these people think.
I loved this but have to agree that having high cholesterol levels puts you at an increased risk for an MI. However, giving blood twice a year is the stupidest piece of advice I’ve ever heard.
You want to lower your cholesterol, eat better. But people don’t want to do that! That’s why so many of them take a statin. It’s not a fucking conspiracy. It’s called patient noncompliance!
Not always. I changed my diet, became more active, lost 60 pounds, and have an excellent BMI now. Lipid panel didn’t budge. The body is complex. There can be other contributing factors, such as genetics….
I agree with you, Jenn. It’s actually true that about half of people who have heart attacks do not have elevated cholesterol, anyway, and I’m related to someone who had one with a total cholesterol level of 120 as measured when he was in the hospital. The current thinking is that it’s more of an inflammatory problem, which is why many cardiologists now check C-reactive protein, an inflammation marker. I’m practically vegan except for some non-fat yogurt, and my cholesterol is almost 280. But my doctor does not prescribe statins because she says the epidemiological studies don’t show a strong enough link between blood lipid levels and heart disease to risk the side effects. And, I don’t smoke, my blood pressure is normal without medication, I am not overweight, and I exercise regularly. So I really have no other risk factors.
I love the idea of both of these articles, but — although you’ve made several valid points along the way — I didn’t love either of the final products.
If you do a third installment, I’d love to see you use a less eviscerating tone and lay out more of your reasoning, along with direct links to primary source material for each side. (One of the Dr. Tenpenny links took me to another article on an independent site, which linked me to ANOTHER article on ANOTHER independent site, which FINALLY linked to the actual source. That is maddening when you’re trying to reference the source and get back to the article.)
You have strong opinions. Show us why.
Haha is this list serious?! I see a trend, anyone against big pharma big ridiculed. Great work Pfiz…..Dawn
Wow. What a fool you are. You think you know more on these subjects . Do you believe there is science to back up your bad ideas…. like Cholesterol = MI…Nope. Like measles vaccine stops measles= nope. Like vaccines don’t lead to Autism= nope. only 2 countries don’t say mmr causes autism. US and Canada,, hum I wonder why.
Actually, the term “autistics” is not offensive. In fact, by and large, it’s the term we prefer.
Hard to say which of those is actually the worst. Perhaps the worst part is the sites listed in 1 and 2 are only the tip of the wooberg.
All this hysteria reminds me very much of the great Y2K fiasco – and I should also mention that I worked for a company that sells solar electric systems at that time, and we made a TON of money without even trying, and in fact often discouraging people from buying systems.
Dawn Peterson. What she says she does: art, design webpages, educate, mommy.
What she really does: Possesses the talent of only speaking in the form of memes. Posts lazy non-reviews of other websites that hold different opinions than her, drawing on the most hackneyed pseudological dribble of the pro-vax, pro-GMO crowd that think that using words like “science”, and “evidence”, make you right by proxy. Makes non-arguments based solely on the utilization of the persuasive power that humor and short, pithy, pejorative statements have on convincing bandwagoners, hoping that somehow a solid and well fortified position on the matters she speaks of will magically come out the other end… or naw.
You write:
(You think )using words like “science”, and “evidence”, make you right by proxy
Using them doesn’t, but understanding both words, and applying the concepts correctly, does.
You are nuts! Vaccines are the reason you are alive! Pseudoscience, my ass! I am old and saw polio saw measles lost family and friends. Go play in traffic!
“He twists the spines of newborns and feels good about it.”
Really? Have you ever seen a chiropractor adjust an infant?
Here is a video of a doctor of chiropractic adjusting two twins in her office. Probably not what you think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=JFnH44H_D3k
What I find especially hilarious is how you can insult others and claim they have no real scientific education, yet in your bio you say (after talking about your website forte), “…I also have extensive knowledge of science from university and personal studies…..” What the heck is that supposed to mean? Chiropractors spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their education and thousands of hours and dollars on continuing education after school. Please don’t try to compare your “personal studies” to the expertise of a doctor of chiropractic.
Also, would you mind explaining how your “personal studies” give you the authority to denote what is and what isn’t science? Have you ever researched the benifits of chiropractic care in your extensive personal studies in science or have you somehow defined chiropractic as anti-scientific with your vast knowledge and authority in the areas of science, thus deeming it unfit for your personal extensive research repertoire?
Here’s a couple of links on Pubmed in case you’re interested in reading about the efficacy of Chiropractic for infants.
Chiropractic helping infants having trouble breastfeeding:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22014911
Chiropractic helping with infants who have colic:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21571236
Video of Mercury Ions destroying Nervous Tissue filmed at the University of Calgary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=XU8nSn5Ezd8
Why isn’t there more evidence supporting chiropractic? I do agree it would be awesome if chiropractic evidence would be more abundant without having to really dig deep, but the evidence is somewhat scarce for two reasons; 1.) most Chiropractors are more concerned with the patients they are helping on a daily basis to take from them the time it would require to provide all the evidence and research. Studies require money (which is why Palmer College of Chiropractic received an $11 million dollar grant for a huge research project in the last few years) and most chiropractors don’t have the money or time to do these kinds of extensive studies. 2.) chiropractic is finally getting back on its feet after the American Medical Association (AMA) tried “to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession” (found guilty in the Wilk v. American Medical Ass’n, 671 F. Supp. 1465, N.D. Ill. 1987) for almost a century and causing many chiropractors to spend time in jail for “practicing medicine without a lisense.” . Is it really surprising the old timers have such a grudge against the Medical industry? The Judge (Susan Getzendanner) herself said the “AMA had entered into a long history of illegal behavior”.
If you’d like to read more about the Wilk vs AMA case on wikipedia here is the link which is referenced to the actual trial:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilk_v._American_Medical_Association
With regard to vaccines, have you read any of the actual science when it comes to vaccines or immunology, or how vaccines affect the immune system, or how infants have no immune system to speak of until years later and rely almost completely upon their mother’s immunity during their first year post birth, or how the toxins from vaccines can cross through the placenta and injure the fetus, or how mercury literally disintegrates nervous tissue, or how the blood brain barrier in children is much more fragile and porus thus leading to the possible transmission of toxins into the brain, or how the goverment has paid out over 3 BILLION dollars to vaccine injury cases (clearly not agreeing with your infallible personally scientific researched opinion on autism merely being diagnosed under a much larger umbrella), or how vaccinated children continue to contract and spread the diseases they were vaccinated for (and supposedly “immune” from)? Should I go on? The point is, there are very real devastating effects from vaccines which parents have a right to know about so they can make an informed decision. These real risks are being entirely ignored by most of the medical community allowing those who are concerned for the health and welfare of their children to be considered “anti-vaccers” and “conspiracy theorists” by those who are willing to follow along like sheep no matter what they’re being injected with for the sake of “public security” because their doctor said so. To these people medical doctor equals “science expert.” These people who follow their medical doctors and the cdc to a T are the reason the dangers of vaccines are being ignored and legislation is being passed to take away your right to do what you believe is best for your children and be forced into getting vaccinations whether or not you deem it responsible (California’s SB277 bill). Even the manufacturers don’t agree with the schedule the CDC and medical doctors impose upon children.
Lastly, “once you’ve started shouting about chemtrails, you may as well wear the tinfoil hat too.” Are you not aware that countries are doing it all over the globe? China for one is completely open about it. Unlike China, the US is too chicken and just hasn’t come out and said it because ignorance is bliss for people like you who live in denial with their heads buried in the sand.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/meteorologists/cloud-seeding.htm
LOL. I lost any real interest when you started in on your bs about the vaccines.
There are an incredible amount of sources that completely debunk all of your claims.. you know, actual studies. Perhaps you should read some actual science and not some linked bs crap that you clicked on from any number of these listed pages.
Go put your tinfoil hat back on. Bye Felicia.
Thank you Phil Spradley. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Wouldn’t waste my time on this. You know the truth.
Much respect Phil! Right off the bat you hit home on the very subject that caught my eye. “He cracks babies spines and feels good about it”. You know why he feels good about it Dawn? Because he’s helping the baby in a way medicine can’t. Chiropractors are nothing like you portrait them. I had back and neck pain and doctors will give you pain relievers. Well that doesn’t stop the problem. I’ve been going to my chiropractor for nearly 10 yrs. Every time I have an injury or over do something. Pain meds? Never. Just like his answering machine says ” if this is a medical emergency please hang up and dual 911, thank you”, My response is what are they going to do? Pretend they even know a thing about me. Take a quick glance and toss me some pills?
Then from the start with your bonus about Kerry. I thought that was obvious while other countries laugh at us for believing our government. JFK knocked down a plan to knock down some buildings and make it look like a terror attack. He also warned people he intended to expose those trying to enslave the country . 8 days later died by a magical bullet according to the government approved text books. But we all know that’s bullshit. For many reasons.
Then chemtrails were covered above also. I personally didn’t realize these things were secrets. But I do love how he broke it down. I was so impressed I had thought about not commenting. But after seeing 3 things way off base and bold face lies. I just can’t stand by quietly.
The word Ironic seems to be needed reguarding this post.
There is a group that attacks women that have c sections and make it out that they are less than women. I can’t remember the name though but maybe you know. If they aren’t on the list puts them on, please?! They get some people I know fired up.
Thank you!
Reagan, that meme about C-sections was from a satire page called Disciples of The New Dawn.
Don’t forget analytical armadillo. Super popular parenting page…should be breastfeeding support but has lots of shady antivax posts and the author doesn’t seem to know anything ’bout research so anything scientific is wrong…
I have to admire how you work, writing an article about fear-mongering and appearing to attempt to steer the sheep away from the wolves… Meanwhile, every other comment is from one of your own sheep, automatically assuming everything you say is in fact gospel, and writing off anyone you tell them to.
Now I’m not in any way defending the pages you’re attacking. Most of them, if not all, are likely pretty worthless. However, I have to admire how you manage to pull off the same tricks you vilify, and yet your own readers aren’t sharp enough to catch it. Kudos.
Just a note on an otherwise great article : It’s not in the least bit offensive to call someone who is Autistic autistic. It’s far preferred by autistic people over the diminutive “with autism. ” You’re not “with femaleness ” or “with American-ness or European-ness. ” 🙂
just a suggestion- Dr. Tenpenny’s post was so triggering for me that I could not read any of the others. Maybe move it to the end or give some warning. That post was pure bullshit, but the first picture is really triggering to assault victims. Thanks.
On Facebook: chemtrails are killing us!!!!!!! (CAKU)
Probabily the single best collection of rational minds on the internet, along with the sister sites:
‘Vaccines are not killing us’
‘GMOs are killing us’
‘Louisiana Skywatch (now a CAKU affiliate)’
‘Chemtrails and HAARP – scientific facts and discussion’
Also, not related, but wonderfully brilliant:
‘GMOLOL’
‘anti-vaxx wall of shame’
All unpaid ‘shills’ willing to fight the good fight using truth, criticsl thinking and science.
Thank you for your articles!
I’d add Wake Up World to your list.
this website is garbage- stop spreading lies and hurling negative comments around concerning things you know nothing about…please – thank you
Another vote for “autistics” not being offensive to most actual, um, autistics. Like myself. Not that Dr. Tenpenny isn’t a disaster, because she is, just not for that reason.
http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2014/06/23/physicists-should-stop-saying-silly-things-about-philosophy/ on a related note
Mostly agree with this list and points made. One quibble– it is my understanding that in an integrated system of maternal healthcare, where there are protocols for transfer of women to a nearby hospital if necessary, home birth can be as safe as a hospital birth: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/british-regulator-urges-home-births-over-hospitals-for-uncomplicated-pregnancies.html?referrer=
Unfortunately, most of the U.S. is not set up for this. BUT, I believe that as long as people are aware of the risks, they should be free to choose the option with which they are most comfortable. My 2 were in hospital, but I’d possibly consider trying for a CNM-assisted home birth if I had a 3rd. Not all OB-GYNs practice EBM or respect birth plans.
Its crazy how writing an article makes you an expert on such an ENORMOUS variety of topics without any real research or relevant education pertaining to said subjects. With your advanced level of education, it boggles the mind that you’re not out trying to make the world a better place. Instead, you sit behind a keyboard and bash people’s FB pages on topics you more than likely are completely clueless to. Congrats!… You’re no different from the people you are bashing.
Yes!
Osteopaths are fully fledged physicians. Essentially the same thing as an M.D., just very slightly different training.
You missed Reset Me too I think
I don’t think Freelee the Banana Girl belongs here. Yes, she did have a ranting video about how she feels about people who participate in the cruelty of the meat industry, but to lump her in with the rest of the conspiracy theorist crackpots really isn’t fair. So she’s a vegan who eats a lot of fruit… so f**ing what? Does she spread blatant lies and unfounded conspiracies? No.
Agreed
Don’t leave out The Alpha Parent and The Feminist Breeder.
Most of this is very useful, but I feel compelled to correct the notion that sugar is innocuous with regard to cancer cells. I’m a veterinarian and we do know that neoplastic cells do preferentially use simple carbohydrates because their energy production is largely through glycolysis rather than oxidative phosphorylation. Cancer patients are often advised to avoid simple sugars because it may enhance tumor growth. However, I am NOT familiar with any evidence that sugar transforms normal cells to neoplastic cells, so that is just rubbish.
I wonder if Higher Perspective would make a future list?
Please add foodbabe to the next installment
Leeann, You’ll find her in my first post! http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from/
Dawn, keep your puny brain matter to yourself. It’s obviously fried from brainwashing and chemical toxicity. When you get some education about science, art and philosophy, then maybe you can comment with the grown ups.
How about whale.to, and The Alpha Parent? That last one is a rabid lactivist who thinks that formula feeding is harming planet Earth, and that formula causes a whole host of awful disorders.
I love how the anti-science freaks bankrupting themselves on the cultist scammers’ behalf have been ordered to swarm this page with half-coherent expressions of extreme butthurt.
Dawn – somebody recommended MindBodyGreen and you said it was already in the post. That’s GreenMedInfo. MindBodyGreen is a different centre of woohattery.
Maddy, that one is #3 on my first list.
I wold add almost any site with the word “truth” in their name, especially this one:
http://worldtruth.tv/
Maybe anything green.whatever
OK, I view this as the same click-bait as the ten here listed, mostly because of the Monsanto commentary. Dawn, do a little more research into this travesty before you blindly accept the earth-polluting mega industry.
That is all. Click Bait.
Hi Dawn,
This post is great. File it under: Incredibly Ironic. In your dismissal of endocrine disruption as a real field of research (http://www.who.int/ceh/risks/cehemerging2/en/) – you link to a climate change denying, industry astroturf group as your reference – on a blog post about sharing from disreputable sources. I haven’t had this good of a laugh in a long, long time. (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Heartland_Institute)
Cheers!
Love these 2 lists!
I echo your feelings on them ,
Check out: Against all Grain.
She claims Paleo cures autoimmune diseases .
Makes me SO angry’
Thank you Dawn. Loved this blog post. Keep up the good work. Also today I found another one, The Event Chronicle: Daily news relating to the fall of the cabal, expanding consciousness, changing the planet, global currency reset and information about The Event. Sounds like VERY low hanging fruit to me. Lots of antivax stuff in there, too! Bonus!
The most pervasive and annoying pseudoscience I see online are from my well-meaning but wildly naive Facebook friends who post from Spirit Science (thespiritscience.net), the ultimate conflation of science and Vitalism (and New Age-y memes). They post rare, valid scientific articles, which are lightly peppered into a weird soup of feel-good woo-woo and anti-“chemical” treatises.
This new wave of new-ageism is particularly insidious, not only because it offers “higher” meaning to the religiously disaffected who fear the finality of death, but also because their occasional republishing of actual evidence-backed reports lends some feeling of legitimacy to the rest of their farce. Spirit “Science” is dangerous because they promote ignoring all criticism and accepting their own subjective reality, driving people deeper into the cult of the “self,” and accepting actual science only when it fits into their preformed narrative (as humans are wont to do).
Look for the phrase “science has proved…”, or words like “vibrations”,”connections”, “crystal”, and “energy” being appropriated for outrageous claims in otherwise scientific contexts.
Maybe it was on your original post, I haven’t read it yet, but if you make another one of these lists include that stupid sungazing page. I see fear – mongering pseudoscience shared from them all the time and I don’t even have the energy or care to point out to my friends why literally everything they post is flawed.
Freelee DEFINITELY belongs here. It’s essentially a secular nutrition cult: they follow the “80/10/10 rule” created by “doctor” Doug Graham who’s not a dietician or even an MD, he’s a chiropractor. They try to look all happy and carefree on the outside and ANYTHING negative about her, 30bad or DurianRider on the internet is always corrected by her google alert setting band of truth adjusters. Really, you’re misunderstanding, they claim, you just don’t understand the context.
The real ugliness is on the forums where people who are having problems with the diet, anywhere from gaining weight to severe problems with malnutrition: hair falling out, teeth falling out, anemia, missing periods, miscarriages, the whole lot, are personally attacked and ridiculed then banned, because the diet works, it’s something wrong with them, or they’re making it all up, or they’re angry because they’ve reverted to a non fruitarian diet and undercarbing is causing them to lash out. Sound familiar?
cuuuullllltttt.
WK, that is really sad to hear about how sick people are making themselves with her diet.
You should add yourself to the list, your rants are ridiculous! ????
Elephant Journal and Mark Hyman on the to-do list? Or am I being too cynical?
Wow! I was shocked when this garbage showed up in my feed. It seems like you are full of hate and attacking these pages out of malice..
I have informed as many pages as I could and sent them this link.. I hope you are prepared for consequences for your idiotic actions.. I wonder how you will feel if these pages take legal action against your hateful ass!
Before posting garbage on something you know nothing about.. go educate yourself first!
Dogs Naturally, medical woo for pet owners – take all the anti-vax, natural food scare mongering and bad information you see on other sites for people and roll it all up into “if you really loved your pet you wouldn’t do this to him/her”. These are the folks that suggested that the best way to protect your young puppy from Parvo and Distempter is to take it to places like the dog park where it could be exposed to these viruses so he/she can build up an immunity, or that you can prevent heartworm with daily doses of stout.
*ugh*
A Sheep No More is another you may want to add to your next list. They are like the Spirit Science of conspiracy theories. They are really out there.
what do you think about Wellness Mama?
I’ll take a look, thank you!
I’d bet that Freelee can shove a whole banana down her throat by now, if you get my drift.
Nice astroturf web site. Could you BE any more obvious? lol
Obvious of what? I’m just a college teacher.
Said with an evil joker smile, and crossed fingers.
You should add snopes.com to your list.
I suggest Chris Beat Cancer. He had surgery to remove a tumor in his colon (the primary cure for his disease) but rejected adjunctive chemotherapy. Of course, he believes his “lifestyle changes” cured him. This guy is not only loony, but dangerous, too. He encourages people diagnosed with cancer to adopt chemo-free “healing” regimens based on a vegan diet. He’s also anti-vax anti- pharma and is generally anti-science. Oh, did I mention he offers coaching, too? His lure? Personal testimonials, or, anecdotal evidence. Of course, dead people can’t talk…
Oh my gosh-so obviously a Big Pharma sponsored article and comments. This article and comments makes me vomit lol
I am not employed or paid by a pharmaceutical company or interest in any way. Why is that your first assumption? Because I differ in opinion from you?
So…we shouldn’t question the status quo? It takes a lot of courage for these bloggers to stand apart from the crowd and share information that runs counter to popular (some would say corporate-sponsored) opinion, and I for one respect those who are willing to risk public scorn by speaking out about their convictions. Yikes, this bashing of people who go against the flow is really discouraging. Think critically, people, and question everything, always, even when that means you too might be the object of ridicule in a blog post like this.
Thanks so much for the great pages you have suggested. Honestly.
Paid astroturf rubbish. Absolutely transparent. Because no human being (unpaid) could be this closed minded.
Paid by whom? This should be interesting.
As the mother of an autistic son, I don’t think Dawn was saying Dr. Tenpenny’s post was offensive because she said “autistics.” What was offensive about the post was the suggestion that 30 year old autistics would be wearing diapers and helmets. That post riled me up quite a bit. Shame on these anti vax, anti autistic nut jobs. (The rest of the people are awful also, but the anti vax and anti chemo people are dangerous to public health).
I must be a shill too.
thanks for the info – I was already aware of some of these sites but your condemnation of some I haven’t heard of has helped me find even more accurate information that Big Pharma and pharmaceutical shills such as yourselves that you’d rather we not know about or have us believe the hatchet job you try to do on them. I may even share your post !! Consider your little plan a backfire.
Now I know you have lost your mind.
There is no evidence that cholesterol level has a causative relationship with heart attack.
So, basically, from the websites/fb pages you seem to think are reprehensible, I am gathering that anyone who is anti vaccination is an idiot? That’s pretty offensive. I could say I find people who preach about vaxxing offensive. I don’t. I feel it is a personal choice based on individual research about what is best for your child. And, no. Vaccinations are not always “best”. I made a serious mistake in vaxxing at all – I even waited until they were 3 before I vaxxed and it didn’t help. I have a child who had a serious reaction to the MMR vaccine. Yes. It really was the vaccine and not some other random thing on which pro-vaxxers try to blame reactions to vaccines. I refuse to vaccinate at all, now. I also find it interesting that most pro-vaxxers love to cite the CDC…which has already proven itself supremely fallible.
If you choose to vaccinate, good for you. If you choose not to vaccinate, good for you.
NaturalNews should be on the list
They are #5 on Part 1. http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from/
Thank you for sharing you opinions. You have expressed your views and you apparently would prefer others do not see or express opposing views. My belief is that we see and hear all sides to give food for thought… to encourage us to research and think for ourselves. I believe we have the freedom of speech and should be able to share posts that will make people think and make their own decisions, vs. following the crowd as “sheeple”.
How do you figure I prefer others do not see or express opposing views? Have you read these comments?
This page came up on my facebook feed – I clicked on it to see whether there were pages I SHOULD be subscribing to.
Space and time constraints prevent a full critique, but just a quick one from your #5
“And our cells need glucose to function. Sugar does not feed cancer cells any more than it feeds healthy cells. ”
Piffle!
Actually our cells have an alternative fuel source to glucose, and those are ketone bodies: it is not necessary to ingest carbohydrates to stay alive. Just ask anyone on a ketogenic diet (or even zero carb!). This is also why the human body can stay alive really quite well without food as long as it has fat reserves (clever, huh?).
That cancer cells FEAST on sugar to a far greater extent than healthy ones is a documented scientific fact, known since 1924 – Otto Warburg won a Nobel Prize for his work on it. (That’s the “Warburg Effect”). You’ve had nearly a hundred years to know this one! What does that say about how the system misleads people that you don’t know it?
If you had clicked on the study GreenMedInfo linked to you’d have found this: “Increased sugar uptake promotes oncogenesis via EPAC/RAP1 and O-GlcNAc pathways” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871217/ and their quote seems a pretty fair synopsis of that result to me. Where’s the problem?
yes, we get it. Every page not paying you shouldn’t be shared.
Which pages are paying me?
“Leanne Ratcliffe eats a shocking amount of fruit (including 30 bananas a day–3150 calories),”
As I read this I had to add a comment. I was talking to a young man early 20s a few weeks ago who told me he ended up sick in the ER with a potassium level of over 8.0 because he was eating about this many bananas a day and exercising non stop. He almost died from Hyperkalemia. Some of this advice from these “experts” can be fatal and uneducated trusting people have no idea.
Please have a good family doctor. Run everything by him/her first. This is why everything you read says “consult your doctor before using”.
And which pillproducer is paying you for all this then?
None.
Wow! Now I’ve heard it all, yes many sites you list are garbage but the topics you defend are the very problem of the world today. You are nothing but a sheep herder trying to defend your own flock of medical brainwashed sheep. Defending sugar, defendinding cell phone usage around babies, defending Monsanto of all things.
And sure you list the nut jobs out there but I’m sure you are probably against people eating raw natural foods and organic meat as well as using natural herbs to heal themselves.
You are like the poster boy for the brainwashed sheep of the world. I can respect a medical doctor that considers all modalities to cure but all you know is drugs and everything the government and media wants you to know.
Don’t worry, there’s millions and millions of people to support the multi billion dollar food and drug companies that don’t give a damn about helping or curing people.
These people on these sites aren’t going to make you go broke, nope there’s enough stupid people to support you for as long as you can live.
My conclusion to reading this article is that you are simply against anything natural that makes you healthy or safer.
You are are truly a quack!
Couldn’t have said it better, Ryan! She is truly out of touch with the truth.
Sorry when did you receive your PHD in all these subjects?? People have views / beliefs / opinions, some bonkers and some not. But your ideas are the same as any. Yours, and you too are free to air them freely on the Internet. But rather than air your views, with back up and reason. Your ridicule others because you don’t happen to agree. Live and Let live and come back when you have your own , evidence based theories. As it stands your being very hypocritical and craving “likes” for exactly what your shaming…. Evidence less nonsense