Weekly Firebreak Roundup, November 10: All The News That's Fit to Hide
Journalist caught fibbing about pesticides; FDA's vaping hypocrisy; anti-human environmentalism
The media routinely amplifies groundless health scares and suppresses stories they’d rather the public not know about. Join us each week as we expose the gullible and ideological reporters who try to spin the news.
Reporter-turned-activist misrepresents pesticide study
Reuters reporter turned anti-chemical zealot Carey Gillam has a long history of misrepresenting the science of pesticide safety, usually to help tort lawyers sue agriculture companies (see here and here). This week, Gillam was called out for deceiving her followers about the results of a study linking pesticide exposure to pediatric cancer.
Not only is Gillam a serial propagandist when it comes to chemicals and cancer, she’s longtime allies with anti-vaccine rabble-rousers. Her disingenuous tweet prompted ER physician and medical toxicologist Dr. Liza Dunn to question Gillam about the harm vaccine skepticism does to children.
Naturally, Gillam had nothing to say.
FDA prohibits e-cig industry from quoting the…FDA
Speaking of disingenuous activists, the Truth Initiative this week complained about tobacco companies marketing their cigarettes with meaningless terms like “natural” and “organic.” Selling a deadly product with implied health claims is certainly unacceptable, though we’re forced to wonder why Truth isn’t bothered by the FDA’s inane restrictions on e-cigarette marketing.
The evidence is clear at this point that nicotine vaping is drastically less harmful than smoking, yet the FDA prohibits manufacturers from advertising this fact to adult smokers. In practice, then, the vapor industry can’t even quote the FDA’s public statements in its marketing material. This prompts an obvious question, which Neurobiologist Charles Gardner put to the Truth Initiative:
Gardner’s question was rhetorical, of course. Truth is a virulent anti-vaping outfit sustained by millions of dollars in legal settlements from cigarette companies. If combustible tobacco goes away—and FDA’s endorsement of vaping could speed that outcome—so does Truth’s reason for existing.
Reject “anti-human” environmentalism
Environmental journalism often starts with the premise that humanity is a blight on the planet. That’s why the press has no problem attacking life-saving medical supplies made from plastic or ignoring the devastating ecological consequences of wind energy. Their goal isn’t to improve living standards or promote sustainability, but to minimize humanity’s impact on the planet.
The always-insightful Alex Epstein dissects this warped ideology in less than two minutes, rightly labeling it “anti-human environmental philosophy.” Click here to watch the clip below.
