MMR Vaccine Hesitancy and Right-Wing Media

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue. 

Amelia M. Jamison, Samee Saiyed, Lauren M. Gardner, "MMR vaccine hesitancy in a polarized information ecosystem: Results from a cross-sectional survey of US adults, Vaccine, Volume 81, 2026, 128568, ISSN 0264-410X,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128568.

Abstract

Objectives

To characterize MMR vaccine hesitancy in US adults amid the 2025 measles outbreaks, with specific focus on the role of an individual's media habits.

Methods

We conducted an online panel survey in August 2025, with 2970 US-based, English-speaking adults (≥18 yrs). We conducted bivariate analyses with chi-square tests to characterize differences between hesitant and non-hesitant adults. We used logistic regression modeling to identify factors associated with MMR hesitancy.

Results

Overall, 17% (n = 501) of adults believed the risks of MMR outweighed the benefits. Most adults engaged with a wide range of digital media, but engagement with “new" right media outlets (e.g., Breitbart) was associated with increased odds of MMR hesitancy (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.64, 2.82). Seeking health information from non-authoritative sources both online (e.g., social media influencers AOR = 1.41; CI = 1.06, 1.98; alternative health newsletters AOR = 1.39; CI = 1.01, 1.90) and offline (e.g., alternative health practitioners AOR = 1.70; CI = 1.31; 2.35) was also associated with increased odds of MMR hesitancy.

Conclusions

In an increasingly fragmented information ecosystem where news coverage of public health events is politically polarized, individual media and health information seeking preferences emerge as key correlates of MMR vaccine hesitancy. Specifically, engagement with “new” right media and seeking health information from alternative healthcare providers were the strongest associated factors with MMR hesitancy, whereas reliance on physicians for health information had the most protective effect.

From the article:

Only engagement with spaces outside of the mainstream, particularly right-leaning “new" media channels, was associated with increased MMR hesitancy; engagement with legacy right outlets (e.g. Fox or New York Post) was not significant. These findings build on prior studies that have highlighted the connection between right-leaning media and vaccine hesitancy [8,36,37]in two critical ways; first, we reinforce findings that “mainstream” media consumption was not generally associated with vaccine hesitancy, and extend this finding beyond media outlets to include more mainstream social media platforms and digital news services; and second, we more narrowly identify the subset of "new" right media sources as having associations with MMR hesitancy. More generally, our findings suggest that when everyone is already engaging online, where and how they choose to do so matters. 

We identified more marked differences between hesitant and non-hesitant adults with respect to their health-seeking behavior compared to their general media preferences, aligning with the growing body of literature documenting how health information seeking habits significantly influence vaccine attitudes [20]. In particular, hesitant adults were more likely to utilize internet and social media sources for vaccine information, whereas non-hesitant adults were less likely to engage with the sources we classified as non-authoritative (e.g., alternative health providers, online health influencers, alternative health newsletters), suggesting greater selectivity in their consumption of health information. Alternately, it may suggest that increased hesitancy could drive more health information seeking as individuals seek to address concerns or conflicting evidence. This finding adds complexity to previous work – during previous outbreaks– that have found associations between online health information sources and MMR hesitancy [22,38]. More research is needed to understand the directionality of this relationship vis-a-vis the media landscape: are hesitant adults actively seeking out non-authoritative sources, or are susceptible groups disproportionately being digitally targeted by these sources? Or are non-hesitant adults simply better able to filter out non-authoritative information? Or is the relationship bi-directional, creating a feedback loop in any of the scenarios?

[8] Sturgis P, Brunton-Smith I, Jackson J. Trust in science, social consensus and vaccine confidence. Nat Hum Behav 2021;5:1528–34.

[22] Cataldi JR, Dempsey AF, O’Leary ST. Measles, the media, and MMR: impact of the 2014–15 measles outbreak. Vaccine 2016;34:6375–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. vaccine.2016.10.048.

[36] Borah P, Ghosh S, Hwang J, Shah DV, Brauer M. Red media vs. blue media: social distancing and partisan news media use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Commun 2024;39:417–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2167584. 

[37] Baumgaertner B, Carlisle JE, Justwan F. The influence of political ideology and trust on willingness to vaccinate. PloS One 2018;13:e0191728. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0191728.

38] Christianson B, Sharif-Mohamed F, Heath J, Roddy M, Bahta L, Omar H, et al. Parental attitudes and decisions regarding MMR vaccination during an outbreak of measles among an undervaccinated Somali community in Minnesota. Vaccine 2020;38:6979–84.

 

AND SEE THE LINDELL WHITEBOARD.

Neurodivergence and Social Media

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue. 

Carter, A., Gracey, F., Moody, J., Ovens, A., & Chatburn, E. (2026). Quality, reliability and misinformation in mental health and neurodivergence content on social media: a systematic review. Journal of Social Media Research, 3(1), 30–47. https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.84

Social media is increasingly used for health information seeking, yet no systematic review has assessed the quality of mental health or neurodivergence-related information on social media. This systematic review aimed to assess the quality, reliability, and prevalence of misinformation in such content, comparing findings across platforms and topics. Searches were performed in MEDLINE Ultimate, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus. Studies were eligible if they evaluated the accuracy, quality, or reliability of mental health or neurodivergent-related information on social media platforms. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were critically appraised using a bespoke tool assessing the search, evaluation, and methodological quality. Due to heterogeneity, the findings were synthesized narratively. Across the 27 included studies, 5057 social media posts were analysed. Misinformation prevalence ranged from 0% to 56.9% and was higher on TikTok than YouTube, and neurodivergence-related content showed higher misinformation prevalence than mental health topics. Information quality and reliability varied widely but were generally higher for professionally created content. These findings highlight a clear need for action: mental health and neurodivergence organizations should create and share accurate, evidence-based content to counter misinformation, and clinicians should be supported to do the same. There is a need for strengthened content moderation, as well as consistent definitions and measures of mental health misinformation. Addressing these issues is vital to protect public mental health and improve the reliability of online information.

Vaccination Green Shoots

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

As of last week, there were 1,748 measles cases in 2026, more than in all of 2024.

At Bloomberg, Jessica Nix reports that measles outbreaks have persuaded some antivax parents to have second thoughts.

The health department in South Carolina saw a nearly 170% increase in MMR immunizations at free clinics in January from the year prior and is close to declaring its outbreak over. MMR vaccines jumped 15% in Texas last year before the state declared its outbreak over in August. Utah’s health department also has recorded a bump in immunizations since last summer, a hopeful sign for the country’s most active current outbreak.

...

The backslide in childhood immunization rates accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to create the conditions for measles to come raging back. Some people simply skipped vaccinations for their kids because the lockdowns halted routine pediatrician visits. But rates also dropped as anti-vax influencers peddling distrust of science and misinformation linking the MMR to autism swayed more parents to opt out of the shots.

Heather Simpson, 35, used to be one of those influencers. She turned against immunizations after she started “absorbing the wrong things” online, including interviews with Kennedy. Later, she struggled to get doctors to diagnose her daughter’s sleep apnea, solidifying her anti-medical establishment views.

The influencer part happened by accident in 2019 when she decided to post her own takes on vaccines in a Facebook group of like-minded moms. Almost instantly, thousands of followers offered her community, which she said was lacking in her life. They also amplified her posts, including one of her dressed as the measles for Halloween that made national news.

Her opinions started to diverge during the pandemic, however, when she found it tough to rail against what she considered common-sense measures to protect others, such as masking. She started to second-guess the authority of anti-vax leaders on other health issues, too. As she began opening up online in 2021 about her changing perspective, her support system crumbled.


“We lost real life friends,” Simpson said. She suffered from panic attacks, worried that maybe her old community was right on vaccines. Doctors who patiently walked her through concerns — instead of throwing data at her — helped affirm her decision to start catching up on immunizations for her daughter.

Her experience led her to help create Back to the Vax, a small online support group for anti-vaxxers who are slowly unlearning what many of them have been told their whole lives.

CDC Goes Quiet on Measles, and Antivaxxers Rush to Fill the Void

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

He has now hijacked the CDC website -- and the CDC itself.

Amelia M. Jamison, Lauren M. Gardner, What happens when the CDC stops posting about measles on social media? An exploratory analysis of social media coverage during the 2025 measles outbreak, Vaccine, Volume 71, 2026, 128074, ISSN 0264-410X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.128074.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X25013726)

Abstract: Amidst the nation's largest measles outbreak in 30 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s social media accounts have gone quiet, creating a “void” in online health communication. In this vacuum, measles messaging has been dominated by news media rather than expert health authorities, resulting in polarized and potentially inaccurate information. In this exploratory study, we analyzed social media content around measles and MMR vaccines on Facebook, Instagram, and X. We observed an emerging “health communication void” around measles: the CDC posted only 10 times total, across the 3 platforms, in the first 8 months of 2025, down from an average of 45.8 posts over the same period from 2021 to 2024, despite fewer measles cases. Major news media outlets averaged 40.4 social media posts in the same period of 2025, with post frequency closely mirroring trends in measles cases. This shift in messaging may impact the public's situational awareness and further erode vaccine confidence.

Laine Bergeson at CIDRAP:

The CDC’s silence also created room for anti-science organizations to fill the void. Children’s Health Defense (CHD), an organization that had been deplatformed from Facebook and Instagram for spreading mis- and disinformation, posted 101 times on X during the outbreak. Its posts focused largely on the alleged dangers of the MMR vaccine while simultaneously downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak. CHD’s social media presence isn’t insignificant; it has approximately three times as many followers on X as the AAP does.

The study’s authors argue that silence from trusted public health institutions carries real risks. In polarized environments like social media, information gaps are rarely left empty, and political and science-skeptical voices have room to attain agenda-setting power. If mainstream media are allowed to set the agenda, measles becomes just another headline rather than a preventable disease that demands public attention and action.

2025: The Year of Autism Disinformation

 In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

He has now hijacked the CDC website -- and the CDC itself.

FactCheck.org includes the Trump administration's comments on autism among the "Whoppers of the Year."

Tylenol and autism: In a late September press conference, Trump endorsed an unproven link between autism and the use of Tylenol, or acetaminophen, during pregnancy. Trump repeatedly told pregnant women, “don’t take Tylenol,” and offered the unsound medical advice to “tough it out.” Recent research indicates there likely isn’t a link. As for Trump’s medical advice, untreated pain or fever during pregnancy can be harmful to both mother and child, and medical groups have long recommended prudent use of the drug — taking acetaminophen when needed in consultation with a doctor.

The administration didn’t point to any new original research on the topic, which has been studied. Some studies have shown an association between using acetaminophen during pregnancy and an increased likelihood of having a child with autism, but no causal link has been established. Recent research indicates there likely isn’t a link. As for Trump’s medical advice, untreated pain or fever during pregnancy can be harmful to both mother and child, and medical groups have long recommended prudent use of the drug — taking acetaminophen when needed in consultation with a doctor.

HHS Secretary Kennedy later falsely claimed that two circumcision-related studies provided evidence that acetaminophen causes autism when given to children. That’s not what the studies found. In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed a webpage to say that its previous statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is “not an evidence-based claim,” echoing Kennedy’s prior misrepresentations of science.

Samantha Putterman at PolitiFact: 

In [Dr. Mona] Amin’s state of Florida, health leaders are seeking to end the rules that require children to come to school vaccinated, at a time when childhood vaccination rates have already been dropping. About 88% of Florida’s kindergartners are up to date on vaccines today, down from about 94% in 2019 — both figures below the 95% rate typically needed to prevent infectious disease outbreaks.

Amin and other pediatricians see these falsehoods manifest in parents’ real-time decisions. About 61% of 1,000 physicians said in an August survey that their patients were influenced by misinformation, and nearly 86% said the amount of misinformation had increased in five years.

More parents are declining the vitamin K shot for their newborns. Administered hours after birth since the 1960s, the shot prevents bleeding into the brain, intestines and other internal organs. Parents’ refusal is leading to rising cases of vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infants.

Measles cases reached a 30-year high in the U.S. in 2025, with nearly 1,800 cases reported in 42 states as of November. Cases of whooping cough are also on the rise. Pediatricians we spoke with said parents of immunocompromised children are asking whether they should send their kids to school at all.

Some parents are hostile. Amin said she’s been screamed at around a dozen times

...

Numbers show pediatric care is under strain, and people in the field say misinformation isn’t helping. With parts of the country already facing critical pediatrician shortages, families struggle to find care and can wait months for appointments in some areas, especially for subspecialty doctors.

Amin teaches residents, and fewer medical school graduates are choosing to be pediatricians. Those already in the field are also leaving traditional practices, citing increasing falsehoods and doctor distrust, among other concerns.

...

Although we found no clear data documenting the rise of doctor influencers, industry groups and researchers acknowledge the phenomenon in articles exploring its benefits, drawbacks and need for quality control. Even artificial intelligence has jumped into the mix, falsely portraying doctors on social media in order to spread falsehoods and market products.

Trump's Firehose of Lies

 A number of posts discussed Trump's support for discredited notions about autism The Sept 22 White House news conference was a firehose of lies.

 Tom Wright-Piersanti at NYT:

Much of what Trump said during his press conference was untrue. Here’s a fact-check.

Vaccines: The president said that the childhood immunization schedule “loads up” children with too many vaccines — as many as 80 different shots.

The truth: Children generally receive roughly 30 vaccine doses before the age of 18, according to the C.D.C.’s schedule. And there is no evidence for the idea that vaccines overwhelm their immune system or lead to conditions like autism.

Hepatitis B: Trump said the disease was sexually transmitted — and that children should not be vaccinated against it until they are 12.

The truth: The virus is transmitted sexually. But it can also spread through drops of blood on surfaces or skin, and it is highly transmissible during delivery, so doctors recommended the vaccine at birth.

Tylenol: Speaking about the risks for pregnant women, Trump said, “There is no downside to not taking it.”

The truth: Doctors already advise pregnant women to take Tylenol sparingly. But there are some important uses. A high fever, for example, can endanger both the mother and the baby.

The firehose keeps shooting lies. 

TikTok: A Vector for Dangerous Misinformation

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue. 

Dexter McMillan at CBC Marketplace:

Marketplace journalists analyzed 100 videos discussing cancer treatments and another 100 for autism therapies. We found that at least 80 per cent of the remedies in the videos — totalling more than 75 million views — weren’t supported by scientific evidence.
...
Marketplace searched TikTok for cancer videos using the search terms "cancer cure" and "cancer treatment," and for autism videos using the terms "autism cure," "autism treatment" and "autism." Starting with the most viewed, we chose 100 each that featured a treatment or cure.
...
Marketplace journalists also found treatments our experts identified as dangerous among the 100 videos on autism.

One video with 760,000 views claimed that chelation therapy — typically used to treat heavy metal poisoning — can improve communication and behaviour in children with autism.

The medical procedure involves using an IV to administer chemicals that bind heavy metals in the body and eliminate them. The video claimed that removing these heavy metals improves autism symptoms.

In addition to this claim being unsupported by science, the treatment can be dangerous, said Dr. Melanie Penner, a pediatrician and autism researcher in Toronto.

...

Stem cell therapies for autism were featured in at least 14 videos reviewed by Marketplace, racking up 3.2 million views altogether. It involves infusing stem cells into the body using an IV.
...
Penner said the research doesn't support that. Meanwhile, these treatments can have serious complications.

TIkTok, Instagram, Stigma, and Misinformation

 In The Politics of Autism, I examine the role of social media in the development of the issue. 

Ononuju, U.A., Ujari, C.A. Stigma and Misinformation About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on Tiktok and Instagram: Content Analysis Using #ASD, #Autism and #ASDinfo. J Autism Dev Disord (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-07057-7.  Abstractzzzzzzz;

Background

This study investigates the prevalence, nature, and impact of misinformation, stigma, and general information about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on TikTok and Instagram.
Objective

The aim of this research was to analyze the content related to ASD on TikTok and Instagram to understand the nature of misinformation, stigma, and their influence on public perceptions of ASD.
Methods

A TypeScript-based scraper was used to extract posts from TikTok and Instagram, focusing on the hashtags #ASD, #Autism, and #ASDinfo. Data was collected over a five-year period from January 2018 to January 2024.

Results

The analysis found that misleading statistics (MIS3) were the most common form of misinformation, accounting for 52.5% of all misinformation. Instagram had a higher prevalence of misinformation (85%) compared to TikTok (74%). In terms of stigma, negative stereotypes (STIG1) were most prominent, with TikTok showing a higher frequency of stigma (88.5%) than Instagram (80%). Supportive community posts (INFO2) made up 48.5% of the posts, with Instagram again leading (65%) over TikTok (63.5%), although TikTok had more interactive engagement. Chi-square tests indicated statistical significance for derogatory language (p = 0.049) and personal stories (p = 0.038), both of which were more prevalent on TikTok. No significant differences were found in other categories.

Conclusions

This study highlights the distinct dynamics of misinformation and stigma across social media platforms, with TikTok showing greater negativity and interactive content, while Instagram provided more supportive community posts. The findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions to address the spread of misinformation and harmful stereotypes about ASD on these platforms.

Tariffs Hurt People with Disabilities

In The Politics of Autism, I write about the everyday struggles facing autistic people and their families.  Technology can help -- but not if it is unaffordable.

Chase DiBenedetto at Mashable:

Adaptive products — often "one of a kind" tech — are considered niche, despite their necessity for swaths of people globally. At large, assistive technologies can be in a regulatory limbo for years before they get into the hands of medical professionals and then in the hands of consumers, and insurance companies have more say than many would like. That makes succeeding in this industry more complicated and higher-risk than other tech sectors, explains Sarah Thomas, founder and CEO of accessibility consulting firm Delight x Design and an advisor in age tech — the new term for human-centered technologies designed to serve and adapt an aging population.

Compared to new laptops and gaming consoles, accessibility tools are "a need to have, not a nice to have," said Thomas. Even in a world without additional economic constraints, accessibility tools and assistive technologies are already shockingly high-priced. Power wheelchairs, for example, can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. Hearing aids run between $1,000 and $4,000, on average. New technologies are even steeper, and financial assistance or insurance reimbursement is never assured.

..

Medtech founders like [Neil] Weinstock and [Tim} Balz start their businesses already battling pricing and access. Many are now encumbered by staggering import fees, as well. Thomas spoke of a startup specializing in dementia support products that's currently paying out a $30,000 tariff bill just to order more inventory — without having made any sales. Other tech companies in Weinstock's circle have faced million-dollar tariff bills as their stock is held at the country's shipping ports, despite desperately attempting to shift manufacturing domestically. Similarly, a manufacturing colleague of Balz had to lay off staff to afford seven-figure costs related to shipping containers.

In ncurring even more additional costs from tariffs means these companies must choose between "eating" the differences or alienating even more consumers with higher unit prices. That can sink a startup quickly.

"We have no idea just how much our costs are going to be because of the tariffs," said Weinstock. Soliddd's product is partially manufactured in the United States, but they also use Qualcomm chips from third party manufacturers, and proprietary pieces that are imported from other countries, like Japan. "I've had a long career doing hardware, and I see that hardware has just gone away in the United States," he said.

Musk and Autism

In The Politics of Autism, I write about the everyday struggles facing autistic people and their families -- including casual prejudice against disabled people.  

Trump has a long history of using the r-word, and Lordy, there are tapes.

Elon Musk has said that he is autistic, so it is odd that he uses the word, a term that bigots throw against autistic people.

Julia Metreaux at Mother Jones:

In September, Elon Musk amplified a post from Autism Capital—a pro-Trump X account that he often reposts—that read: “Only high T alpha males and aneurotypical people (hey autists!) are actually free to parse new information with an objective ‘is this true?’ filter. This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.” Musk called the claim, which originated on the infamous web forum 4chan, an “interesting observation.” His repost was viewed 20 million times.

...

A society with too much empathy—the kind of society Musk claims we live in—wouldn’t be full of ostracized, bullied kids who grow into adults like him. A society that supported, or at least more thoughtfully approached, autistic traits wouldn’t produce 4chan boards full of his Aspie supremacist fans. It would allow people like Musk to speak openly about being autistic, without retreating from the word, and to engage with initiatives led by autistic people, not figures like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who describe autism as an “injury” that renders people incapable of holding jobs, making art, or playing sports.

Aspie supremacists do real harm to autistic people in their embrace of gendered, racialized stereotypes, and in drawing spurious lines between themselves and anyone they consider “severely” autistic. Musk may simply be a jerk, but he’s a jerk with a tremendous platform—and one whose fans loudly, publicly connect his shitty personal behavior and fascistic policies to “mild” autism.

“It’s really frustrating to be caught in this place where we’re trying to be inclusive of all autistic people, and there are such polarizing opinions and perspectives about autism,” says Jules Edwards. “It causes this additional challenge when we’re advocating for inclusion and access, trying to educate people about what is autism versus the idea of ‘good autism’ or ‘bad autism.’”

Bleach 2025

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss autism quackery.  There have been lots of bogus "cures" over the years: chelation, camel milk, "magic dirt," and products containing bleach. They do not work and some are dangerous. 

Jabed Ahmed at The Independent:

A social media influencer is promoting industrial bleach as a false “autism cure”, despite health warnings and reports from parents that their children have become seriously ill after following her advice.

Kerri Rivera, who has more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, encourages parents to give their autistic children chlorine dioxide (CD) — a potentially lethal chemical used to bleach textiles and disinfect industrial surfaces.

Experts have called her fake cures “sickening”, adding it is “wrong, dangerous and harmful to autistic people and their families”.

Messages seen by The Independent from Ms Rivera’s private support group reveal parents reporting vomiting, rashes, seizures and chemical-smelling urine in their children after following her advice.

One parent wrote: “I have noticed a high ammonia-smelling urine in my daughter's pull-ups... I imagine these are the parasites dying and leaving behind their toxins. Is this a good sign to be smelling this?”

Ms Rivera, who falsely claims that autism is caused by “parasites” and “worms”, routinely reassures parents that these are signs the treatment is working. She refers to symptoms like vomiting and hives as evidence that the body is “detoxifying”.

Her Instagram account states “autism is treatable” – a categorically false claim.

Ms Rivera’s Instagram account has more than 17,000 followers, while her TikTok has attracted over 3,000.

After The Independent contacted TikTok for comment, a spokesperson confirmed the account had been deactivated. Meta has been approached for comment.

...

A petition to remove Ms Rivera’s account has been signed by more than 30,000 people.

Musk, Aspie Supremacy, and Slurs

In The Politics of Autism, I write about the everyday struggles facing autistic people and their families -- including casual prejudice against disabled people.  

Elon Musk has said that he is autistic, so it is odd that he would use a variation of the r-word, a term that bigots throw against autistic people.

My tolerance for subtards is limited

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 27, 2024

l

 Eric M. Garcia  at The Independent:

Back in September, an X/Twitter account known as Autism Capital posted a screenshot of a written theory that appeared to be taken from 4Chan. The theory postulated that only “high [testostrone] alpha males” and “aneurotypical people” can think freely and be trusted to know what is objectively true. That means “a Republic for high-status males is best for decision making,” the theory continued. Elon Musk, the X owner and Tesla executive, responded: “Interesting observation.”

Little wonder that Musk found such proclamations interesting. He has talked in public a number of times about having “Asperger’s syndrome” (a term that fell out of favor as researchers learned the extent of Hans Asperger’s collaboration with the Nazi regime’s child euthanasia program and one that hasn’t been used clinically since 2013.) The concept of “Aspie supremacy” — a term some disability rights advocates coined for the deeply problematic idea that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who previously would be considered as having Asperger’s are superior to both neurotypical people and other autistic people — has been around for a while. But it’s gained traction in the past few years in some very online, very right-wing spaces.

UPDATE:

Elon Musk just agreed with a tweet calling MAGA followers the “retarded right” pic.twitter.com/h8BaHnn2I8

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) December 28, 2024

Causation

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.

• Contrary to the lies of Trump and RFK Jr., vaccines do not cause autism.
• Genetics plays an important role.
• Much of the reported increase reflects greater awareness and broadening of diagnostic criteria.
• Beyond that, there is uncertainty about how much true prevalence has increased, and what might be causing such an increase.

Emily Baumgaertner at NYT:

More than 100 genes have been associated with autism, but the disorder appears to result from a complex combination of genetic susceptibilities and environmental triggers.

The C.D.C. has a large-scale study on the risk factors that can contribute to autism, and researchers have examined dozens of potential triggers, including pollution, exposure to toxic chemicals and viral infections during pregnancy.

Some research suggests that babies born to older parents — particularly an older father — may be at increased risk of autism. Other studies hint that premature birth or low birth weight could be associated with autism, which is often linked to high oxidative stress.

The idea that such factors could also be involved in the overall rise in autism is convincing to Juergen Hahn, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who studies the computational systems biology of autism, given that both the number of children surviving premature birth and the average age of new parents are rising.

But testing a hypothetical driver of autism would mean controlling for the endless list of other influences on early development and following the child well into adulthood, when some people now receive their diagnosis.

“These are very complicated studies to conduct, especially if you want statistical certainty, and there are no easy answers,” Dr. Hahn said. “Sometimes we just have to say we don’t know. And that always gives people room for speculation.”

...

Researchers also point to the influence of social media as “one of the biggest unrecognized factors driving the explosion of autism diagnoses,” Dr. Baron-Cohen said. Platforms like Reddit, he said, became a space “where people who might wonder if they or their child were autistic could communicate with each other and feel a new sense of belonging and identity,” he said.

Still, for Catherine Lord, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has developed diagnostic tools and longitudinal studies for autism, the math just isn’t working.

“Some of it is clearly from greater awareness and broader inclusion,” she said. But even if those are the biggest factors driving the surge, and even if biological and environmental factors are contributing as well, she said, “it seems a little far-fetched to think that all of these add up to the increase.”

She is confident, though, from copious data in both the United States and abroad, that heightened autism prevalence does not correspond to childhood immunizations.

“Whatever it is,” she added, “it’s not vaccines.”

Here is a long. growing, and probably incomplete list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies: 

1. Inflammatory bowel disease;
2. Pesticides;
3. Air pollution and proximity to freeways;
4. Maternal thyroid issues;
5. Autoimmune disorders;
6. Induced labor;
7. Preterm birth;
8. Fever;  
9. Birth by cesarean section;
10. Anesthesia during cesarean sections;
11. Maternal and paternal obesity;
12. Maternal diabetes;
13. Maternal and paternal age;
14. Grandparental age;
15. Maternal post-traumatic stress disorder;
16. Maternal anorexia;
17. Smoking during pregnancy;
18. Cannabis use during pregnancy;
19. Antidepressant use during pregnancy;
20. Polycystic ovary syndrome;
21. Infant opioid withdrawal;
22. Zinc deficiency;
23. Sulfate deficiency;
24. Processed foods;
25. Maternal occupational exposure to solvents;
26. Congenital heart disease;
27. Insufficient placental allopregnanolone.
28. Estrogen in the womb;
29. Morning sickness;
30. Paternal family history;
31. Parental preterm birth;
32. Antiseizure meds
33. Location of forebears
34. Lithium
35. Aspartame
36. BPA
37. Brain inflammation
38. Maternal asthma
39. Infertility
40. Ultraprocessed foods
41. Household chemicals
42. Parental psychiatric disorders
43. Fluoride
44. Fatty acids in umbilical cord blood
45. Maternal inflammation during pregnancy

 

Trump Will Let RFK Jr. Do Whatever Wants on Health

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.

A number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.

 Another leading anti-vaxxer is presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.  Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism.  He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen."

He recently ran for president as an independent and has now endorsed Trump.  If Trump wins, RFK could get a major job in the administration.

Podcaster Joe Rogan has given RFK Jr. a platform to spread vaccine misinformation.

Aimee Picchi at CBS:

Rogan pressed Trump on whether he's "completely committed" to bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his administration.

"Oh, I completely am," Trump responded, but added he and Kennedy disagree on environmental policies. He said he'll tell Kennedy to "focus on health, do whatever you want."

Kennedy has been instrumental in spreading skepticism about vaccines, rejecting the overwhelming consensus among scientists that the benefits of inoculation outweigh the rare risk of side effects.

Another Bogus Autism Treatment

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.   And among those diseases could be COVID-19.

At WIRED, David Gilbert reports on how a Facebook group hawks a bogus - and dangerous - autism treatment.

This group is just the latest example of how the anti-vaxxer community has used platforms like Facebook for more than a decade to prey on vulnerable people by pushing bogus and dangerous pseudoscientific products—especially those targeting children. These same communities have in the past pushed bleach as a cure for autism and during the Covid pandemic promoted ivermectin as a treatment for children. Despite repeated exposés of these groups, they continue to flourish on major social media platforms.

The Facebook group was first set up in September 2022 by a woman named Julia Czelazewicz, who is known online as Detox Mama. Czelazewicz pushes group members toward her website, where she sells Pure Body Extra as well as a number of other products.

...

For decades the bogus claim that childhood vaccines were linked to autism was promoted widely within the so-called alternative health community. It was given a major boost in 2005 when Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who will be a member of Donald Trump’s transition team if he is elected next month, published an error-ridden article in two mainstream publications. The claims gained even more traction during the Covid lockdowns when conspiracies around vaccines surged once again.

Czelazewicz told WIRED that she has “never made a claim that this product cures autism” and that she has “no control how others choose to express their experience with PBX.” However, when asked if she would state clearly that Pure Body Extra does not have any impact on the symptoms of autism, Czelazewicz did not respond.

She also failed to respond to questions about the negative side effects being reported in the group by parents of children being treated with Pure Body Extra, and did not provide any evidence when asked if the product was suitable for children.

One of the most troubling aspects of the group is the way it seeks to prey on vulnerable parents of autistic children who appear at a loss as to how to treat their children’s behavioral problems.