“”Joseph Mercola is among the top misinformation vectors of our time when it comes to health, medicine, food, parenting, and more. He promotes chemophobia and spreads fear of chemicals, GMOs, and vaccines, all while peddling alternatives to line his pockets. —Kavin Senapathy[1] Mercola ~~injecting himself into~~ interjecting at the 2009 International [anti-]Vaccine Conference. Against allopathy Alternative medicine Clinically unproven * Radionics * Carnivora * Dr. Bronner's Soap * Immune system boosting * Burzynski clinic * Andreas Ludwig Kalcker Woo-meisters * Christiane Northrup * Andreas Ludwig Kalcker * Michael Uzick * Leonard Coldwell * Precision Herbs * One America News Network v \- t \- e Joseph Mercola (1954–) is an American anti-vaxxer, conspiracy theorist, pseudoscience promoter and absolute quack, best known for making false and misleading health claims.[1][2][3] Mercola, an osteopathic physician, is a popular guru of alternative medicine and naturopathy.[4] He is a member of the right-wing quack outfit Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Mercola advocates and provides a forum for many classic crank medical ideas, such as vaccine hysteria and the belief that modern (sorry, "allopathic") medicine kills more people than it helps. His website is a veritable spring of pseudoscience, quackery, and logical fallacies. He is also a promoter of the idea of an AMA/Big Pharma/FDA conspiracy.[5] Despite his claim that unlike other doctors, he is not interested in profit,[6] he advertises all manner of unproven products, and has a health center that dispenses alternative medicine for a steep price.[7] Mercola funds 40% of the budget of the anti-vaccination National Vaccine Information Center's budget.[8] He had previously promoted the false idea that Vitamin C and Vitamin D could prevent measles, and not coincidentally his top sales products are supplements.[8] ## Contents * 1 Issues * 2 COVID-19 * 3 Trouble with regulatory committees * 4 Birds of a feather… * 5 See also * 6 External links * 7 References ## Issues[edit] In addition to the aforementioned issues, Mercola promotes various disproved crank health ideas such as: * Toxic metals in vaccines and dental fillings. The idea of heavy metal poisoning as being responsible for many common health problems is a popular one, and completely wrong. The studies of mercury in dental amalgams and vaccines are conclusive – there is no danger (which is more than can be said for the unnecessary chelation therapy that quacks prescribe to fix the "problem").[9] * Statin denialism, Mercola claims that statins are harmful and that 99% of people do not need them. He says they cause birth defects if taken during pregnancy and increase the risk of diseases.[10][11] This one is particularly horrible, as few medications or interventions have been found to be as safe and effective as statins. Failing to prescribe a statin to someone with coronary artery disease is very much against the standard of care (meaning that it could be construed as malpractice). * Microwaves "kill nutrients in food." No more than ovens do.[12] * Modern medicine kills you dead, but homeopathy works! (Fractal wrongness). * HIV doesn't cause AIDS and death from HIV is due to the "psychological stress" of having the condition. But he has a cure![13] * GMOs are every bit as harmful as excessive sugar and processed food.[14] * Eyeglasses denial[15], which is as pointless and harmful as it sounds. * Seriously, just pick a scientifically unsupported concern out of a hat, anything from aspartame to water fluoridation. * Magnesium woo, he is supportive of the crackpot ideas of Carolyn Dean.[16] ## COVID-19[edit] See the main article on this topic: COVID-19 pandemic In March 2021, the Center for Countering Digital Hate published a list of twelve individuals entitled the "disinformation dozen", e.g. the individuals most responsible for spreading anti-vaccination misinformation online. [17] Topping the list was Joseph Mercola, who by July 2021 had published more than 600 articles on Facebook that cast doubt on COVID-19 vaccines since the start of the pandemic. [18] On April 29, 2021, Mercola published a book entitled The Truth About COVID-19, in collaboration with noted medical woo pusher Ronnie Cummings, and with a forward from notable anti-vaccination pusher Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Depressingly, on July 24 2021, this book was listed as the #1 best seller in the Kindle "Preventive Medicine" category on Amazon, [19] in spite of the book being a massive pile of bullshit conspiracy theories mixed in with unproven and disproven "treatments" (that happen to coincide with some of the supplements that Mercola sells). [20] Mercola also endorsed (via an Amazon editorial review) a "behind-the-scenes" novelized account of the bullshit non-documentary Plandemic. [21]. In a win for science, On September 29, 2021, Mercola (along with Kennedy) was booted off YouTube for being a prominent spreader of anti-vaccination bullshit.[22] ## Trouble with regulatory committees[edit] Mercola has received two warnings from the FDA for hyping coconut oil, chlorella, and the Living Fuel RxTM diet.[23][24] He received a third warning for selling infrared cameras that he claimed could be used to diagnose a number of illnesses.[25] On February 18, 2021, Mercola received yet another warning from the FDA. This time, the warning was for Mercola promoting vitamin C and vitamin D as a COVID-19 cure on his supplements website, as well as promoting quercetin (a flavonoid that, like the aforementioned vitamins, is present in many fruits and vegetables) as a cure for COVID-19.[26] (The quercetin-cures-COVID bullshit claim, uncoincidentally, happens to also be promoted in Mercola's depressingly best-selling Truth About COVID-19 book). [20] In addition, in April 2016, Mercola was forced to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising, due to Mercola selling tanning beds that he claimed not only didn't cause cancer, but somehow actively reduced the chances of getting it. Because this claim was 100% bullshit, Mercola was forced to pay refunds to his customers and leave the tanning bed business. [27][28] This all came to a head in August 2021, when Mercola announced that he'd be wiping much of his old article archives and deleting new articles after a 48-hour period, claiming that President Biden had "targeted [him] as his primary obstacle that must be removed."[29] ## Birds of a feather…[edit] In what can only be termed a alternative medicine practitioner group hug, Mercola has recently come to the defense of the Burzynski Clinic despite the obvious pitfalls of doing so.[30] ## See also[edit] * Megavitamin therapy -- for some of Mercola's products that exceed the maximum recommended daily dose ## External links[edit] * mercola.com * FDA Orders Mercola to Stop Illegal Claims, Quackwatch * 9 Reasons to Completely Ignore Joseph Mercola, Science-Based Medicine * Joseph Mercola and the Town of Allopath, Merseyside Skeptics * Joseph Mercola and winged-monkeys, A pet-care video from Mercola.com * Mercola – Still Lying After All These Years, Denialism blog * Respectful Insolence has an entire catalog of Mercola's adventures in Woo generation: * Mercola Sells the Delusion of Homeopathy * Joe Mercola and Raw Milk Faddism Invade HuffPo * Joe Mercola's Shampoo Woo * Joe Mercola Plays the Religion Card Against Vaccines * Joe Mercola: Proof positive that quackery sells * Joe Mercola attacks vaccinations again. Film at 11. * Joe Mercola: 15 years of promoting quackery. ## References[edit] 1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.theringer.com/2017/1/5/16041098/dr-joseph-mercola-natural-health-website-bc1ac5e6ebc 2. ↑ Dr. Joseph Mercola Ordered to Stop Illegal Claims 3. ↑ 9 Reasons to Completely Ignore Joseph Mercola 4. ↑ About Dr. Mercola 5. ↑ When Should You Use Conventional Medicine? 6. ↑ Dr. Joseph Mercola's Qualifications "But clinical trials conducted by heavily biased "researchers," advertisements, and news stories carefully scripted to scare you into belief, highly polished corporate offices and corporate websites, and an extreme focus on whatever has the most profit potential – not lifesaving or life-enhancing potential – are not qualifications. They are scams." 7. ↑ Optimal Wellness Center Tour: A Total Health Transformation Can Be Yours! Mercola (archived from February 3, 2007). 8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 A major funder of the anti-vaccine movement has made millions selling natural health products by Neena Satija & Lena H. Sun (Dec. 20, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. PST) The Washington Post. 9. ↑ Somewhat ironic that he got on the anti-mercury bandwagon, considering that his last name kind of sounds like mercury. 10. ↑ Statin Denialism 11. ↑ Statin drugs are dangerous 12. ↑ The Claim: Microwave Ovens Kill Nutrients in Food, New York Times 13. ↑ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/01/spirulina-the-amazing-super-food-youve-never-heard-of.aspx 14. ↑ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/28/gma-evil-corporation.aspx 15. ↑ http://www.mercola.com/Downloads/bonus/2020vision/report.htm 16. ↑ Magnesium—The Missing Link to Better Health. 17. ↑ "The Disinformation Dozen: Why platforms must act on twelve leading online anti-vaxxers", Center for Countering Digital Hate, 24 March 2021 18. ↑ "The most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online" by Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, 2021 July 24, mirrored at the Seattle Times 19. ↑ "Amazon Best Sellers: Best Sellers in Preventitive Medicine", archived on 25 Jul 2021 02:14:49 UTC 20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "The Upside-Down Doctor Joe Mercola is a doctor at war with medicine. His take on the pandemic is a lucrative, conspiratorial fever dream" by Jonathan Jarry, McGill Office for Science and Society, 2021 June 4 21. ↑ "Amazon Is Selling a Bogus ‘Plandemic’ COVID Conspiracy Book in Its ‘Science’ Section" by David Gilbert, Vice, 2021 July 6 22. ↑ "YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation" by Davey Alba, New York Times, September 29 2021 23. ↑ FDA warning, Feb. 16, 2005 24. ↑ FDA warning, Sep. 21, 2006 25. ↑ FDA warning, Mar. 22, 2011 26. ↑ Warning Letter: Mercola.com, LLC, MARCS-CMS 607133, issued by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2021 February 18 27. ↑ "Accused by feds, sun bed-selling doctor settles for up to $5.3 million" by Kim Janssen, Chicago Tribune, 2016 April 14 28. ↑ "The burning truth about indoor tanning" by Seena Gressin, Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC, 2016 April 14 29. ↑ A top spreader of coronavirus misinformation says he will delete his posts after 48 hours, by Davey Alba (04 August 2021) The New York Times via The Seattle Times. 30. ↑ Quoth Joe Mercola: I love me some Burzynski antineoplastons, Respectful Insolence