COVID-19 misinformation is currently a serious issue, especially since new variants, such as Delta, and Lambda, appear in various countries across the globe, including in the United States.
Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center investigational pharmacy technician Sara Berech holds a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine before it is administered in a clinical trial on December 15, 2020 in Aurora, Colorado. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be submitted for emergency use by late January.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), WHO (World Health Organization), and other international and local health agencies are currently advising people to get COVID-19 vaccine jabs. However, they have a hard time since fake news and falses articles are making some people doubt these medicines.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate, or CCDH, announced the number one anti-vaxxer across the globe, who is currently working as a natural health doctor. Dr. Joseph Mercola has published around 600 articles, claiming that vaccines can't really prevent or cure the novel coronavirus.
CCDH said that the natural medical expert and Robert F Kennedy Jr., the nephew of the former U.S. President John F Kennedy, were among the top 12 COVID-19 misinformation spreaders. Kennedy Jr. was the top fake news sharer. He started spreading fake articles way back in 1990, claiming that some vaccines can lead to autism and allergies.
The Number One COVID-19 Misinformation Is A Doctor?
According to Business Insider's latest report, the natural doctor was able to beat the former president's nephew when it comes to spreading anti-COVID-19 vaccine posts and other content. Mercola is a medical expert who is based in Cape Coral, Florida.
Nurse Practitioner Terri Welch administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to a patient at the Haxby and Wigginton Group Medical Practice in Haxby, northern England on December 22, 2020. - Europe is expected to start a massive vaccination campaign after Christmas following the United States and Britain, which have begun giving jabs.
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He became popular after he released some articles claiming that mattresses are amplifying radiation. Aside from this, many people also believed him after he announced that tanning beds could reduce the chance of getting cancer.
Thanks to his followers, he was able to make some money by selling his at-home tanning beds, which cost around $1,000 up to $4,000. However, the Federal Trading Commission discovered his scheme. The government agency sued him and required him to provide a customer refund totaling around $5.3 million.
After the issue, he started focusing on the ongoing global pandemic. Some of his published articles targeting COVID-19 vaccines are "Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?" and "Thyme Extract Helps Treat COVID-19."
But, the natural doctor decided to remove all his posts since they were being censored. Mercola added that censorship is a part of the fearmongering media and corrupt politicians.
Fauci Claims US Residents Need COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
The natural doctor and other COVID-19 misinformation spreaders should certainly be stopped, especially since Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease official, announced that Americans need to have COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
"Those who are transplant patients, cancer chemotherapy, auto-immune diseases, that are on immunosuppressant regimens, those are the kind of individuals that if there's going to be a third booster, which might likely happen, would be among first the vulnerable," explained the medical expert via Reuters.
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Related Article: Joseph Mercola's History of Spreading Coronavirus Disinformation, Fight With the FDA, and Social Media Influence
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Written by: Griffin Davis
