If Huffington Post wants to have credibility and gain its vaunted #1 spot as the most trusted online new source, there is only one thing it needs to do - ditch the woomeisters Chopra and RFK Jr., and get in their place some people from the reality-based community.
People are sick of conservative, emotion-based, gut-feeling decision-making that screwed up the country over the past 28 years. Why allowing the Left fringe equivalents into the mix? It is them that make a lot of people untrusting of Huffington Post.
Will Huffington Post publish and defend this piece about the potential fraud leading to all the autism-vaccine connection crappola?
This is your test. Do it, and perhaps you'll gain credibility with the reality-based community. Stick by your woomeisters instead, and your credibility is gone. Over. Out. Kaput.
(Hat-tip: Phil Plait)
Related:
Vaccines and autism--can we stick a fork in it now, please?
Why am I not surprised? It looks as though Andrew Wakefield probably falsified his data
Scientific Misconduct and the Autism-MMR Vaccine Link
Important Information on the MMR Vaccine-Autism Link
Anti-vax study a case of scientific fraud?
Was the original autism-vaccine data faked?
Medicine & Health
Politics
Comments
Fuck 'em. The bigger you are, and the more money you make, the less trustworthy you are. Period.
Posted by: Comrade PhysioProf | February 7, 2009 7:59 PM
The move in the first part of this century towards ratinalism, science, evidence and reason was called "modernism". I t was madernism that put man on the moon,m wiped out smallpox, and so on.
Of course, it had its deficiencies. Hence post-modernism.
But now, it seems, post-modernism's own glaring faults are becoming obvious (for instance: it turns out that re-hashing every bad idea from the past half aeon is dumb), and people are turning again to science, reason, and all that. But without quite the hubris and triumphalism of before.
Allow me to dub this: "neo-modernism".
Posted by: Paul Murray | February 8, 2009 4:07 AM
Looks like they did publish a summary of the story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/08/doctor-andrew-wakefield-w_n_165033.html
Posted by: quaoar | February 8, 2009 6:44 PM
Excellent!
Posted by: Coturnix | February 8, 2009 7:04 PM
I've done another round-up post -- who is saying what about the Deer articles on Wakefield in the London Times. I've included this post.
11 years on, Wakefield Manufactured Data showing MMR-Autism Link?
re HuffPo:
If they publish anything on the Wakefield affair subsequently by the Age of Autism crowd (Stagliano, Kirby, RFK jr,)-- or publish anything by that lot -- the HuffPo credibility is still shot.
And go read the comments at the HuffPo brief article linking to the Deer articles at the Times (London)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/08/doctor-andrew-wakefield-w_n_165033.html
Sample:
"Fact is, the government often lies to cover its own butt. The fact that the CDC is in the pocket of Big Pharma doesn't help, either. Opinions can easily be bought, especially in the mainstream media who rely on Pharma Advertising dollars.."
Posted by: Liz Ditz | February 8, 2009 10:54 PM