A fake CDC website hyped a disgraced doctor as a vaccine expert—RFK Jr. just brought him on board
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is enlisting a longtime vaccine skeptic to research possible links between immunizations and autism—a controversial claim RFK Jr. has pushed in the past.
Multiple studies have shown no such correlation, and the scientific community widely believes the claim to be thoroughly debunked.
The forthcoming federal study is being led by David Geier, a researcher who has not only promoted the false claim that vaccines are linked to autism but also was previously disciplined by Maryland regulators for practicing medicine without a license.
RFK Jr. has long come under fire for his vaccine skepticism—but previously cited research from Geier and his father Mark to back his stance.
One researcher, Mitzi Waltz of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, previously condemned RFK Jr. for "amplifying the voices of figures who see autism as a disease state," and referenced his support for "thoroughly discredited fringe practitioners like Mark and David Geier."
Geier's research is so fringe that it appeared on a fake Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, which Mother Jones reported was likely linked to the anti-vaccine organization founded by RFK Jr., the Children’s Health Defense.
On a now-defunct web page that appeared nearly identical to the real Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three of Geier's studies were listed to support the supposed claim that vaccinations cause an increased likelihood of autism in children.
In 2017, the scientific journal Science listed the Geiers as the original source of false claims about thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines, being linked to autism, and peddling experimental and risky treatments they purported would treat autism.
That controversial work was what prompted Geier to be disciplined for practicing medicine without a license and spurred the Maryland Board of Physicians to revoke Mark Geier's state medical license.
That initially controversial and widely debunked study is listed on the fake CDC website.
RFK Jr.'s move to tap Geier to lead the study is drawing outrage from critics online.
"Geier is one of the most blatantly biased, incompetent, and unethical choices I could imagine to do this study," wrote one self-identified doctor on X.
"This is not someone who is only anti-vaccine and has a history of bad science; this is someone with a documented history of fraud and violating patients' interests. You don't hire someone like this when you want even marginally credible results," blasted UC Law San Francisco professor Dorit Reiss.
"You hire someone like this when you want someone who has proven he is willing to commit fraud," she continued. "And you want someone who has proven he's willing to commit fraud when you know that without that fraud, the data won't show what you want."
Quipped someone else about Geier's bias, "Conflicts of interest are fine so long as they’re anti-vax conflicts."
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post A fake CDC website hyped a disgraced doctor as a vaccine expert—RFK Jr. just brought him on board appeared first on The Daily Dot.