Archive for May, 2020

Homeopathic mass fraud concerning claimed efficacy of homeopathy in epidemics

Monday, May 18th, 2020

In the more than 20 years in which I now write about homeopathy I often read claims about the superiority of homeopathy versus “school medicine”. But I never saw any facts. Only claims. No facts. So I ignored that background noise. But recently the topic appeared again. Fueled by the SarsCoV2 pandemic, these claims again were forcefully pushed into the public, into the news, and into the Net. Claims. Only claims.

Then, when I was taking part in comments concerning a TV broadcast and an accompanying web-page, there was a hint about facts. Or what was called facts.

User “Schorschi” wrote at 26.03.2020 21:50:

https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/verbraucher/Wirksam-oder-Placebo-Pro-und-Kontra-Homoeopathie,homoeopathie122.html

[***quote***]
“Dr. T. A.McCann aus Dayton, Ohio, berichtete 1921 zur 77. Jahrestagung des American Institute of Homoeopathy in Washington D.C. über 24.000 Grippefälle, die schulmedizinisch behandelt wurden und von denen 28% starben, gegenüber 26.000 Grippefällen, die eine homöopathische Behandlung erhielten und bei denen die Sterberate bei 1,05% lag.“ ………”
[***/quote***]

Translated by DeepL.com:

[***quote***]
“Dr. T. A.McCann of Dayton, Ohio, reported in 1921 at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Homoeopathy in Washington, D.C., 24,000 cases of influenza which were treated by conventional medicine and 28% of which died, compared with 26,000 cases of influenza which received homeopathic treatment and for which the mortality rate was 1.05%.” ………”
[***/quote***]

All the comments were deleted several days after they had been published. All what is left since then is the text by the journalists. But that text is irrelevant.

Searching for the “Dr. T.A.McCann” was complicated. So I am happy that users of the TG-1 (“Transgallaxys Forum 1”) did most of the investigative work:

http://www.transgallaxys.com/~kanzlerzwo/index.php?topic=11618

I will try to explain a bit about the backgrounds of all that. Because the backgrounds play a very important role.

Searching with a search engine today is working under the eyes of a Nazi regime, and under the eyes of the Blockwarts and forgers and demagogues, to nonetheless find the REAL facts.

It is a hell of an undertaking. The search engines lie. Each day one gets different answers – most are not useful, or are nonsense, or are dangerous traps by criminals. So it takes a lot of time until one gets to the real sources, to the real originals of the matter, and to useful material.

Especially old material is hard to get.

In older days one only could find material in libraries, which meant printed books, magazines and newspapers. During the past 2 decades many things changed and today we have HUGE digital libraries, many of them being fueled by Google in their attempt to rake in the whole world.

Google made contracts with libraries, say, of universities, scanned the papers, and gave the digitized material to those libraries. So the material does exist, it is scanned and it is stored in digital libraries. But, still, we can not have it. We are banned, because the material is property of the libraries AND OF GOOGLE. And we, over here in Europe, are foreigners, and do not exist.

Very peculiar, and saying, is the (a)buse of works by German authors. The books are there (in the American libraries), are scanned, are shown to American citizens, but Germans are blocked, with some weird pseudo arguments.

So, accessing old libraries is tough, the more if one is in Germany. But today, at last, we CAN access SOME US libraries, at least a part of the material.

This access to old material, or better: the inability to access old material, plays an important role. Because the material we are looking for dates back to the year … somewhen.

https://scontent-frt3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p960x960/92243744_1326207584253988_5233440404912734208_o.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=WXG66T-9KGwAX9Y5GQb&_nc_ht=scontent-frt3-2.xx&_nc_tp=6&oh=1460dafe3be9748c67031bcb3e664f35&oe=5ECE4D1F

[***quote***]

Homeopathy’s track record in epidemics

Epidemic Mortality Mortality
conventional homeopathic
treatment treatment

Typhus 1813 30% 1.5%
Cholera 1830 40% 7-10%
Cholera 1854 59% 9%
Yellow fever 1850 15% 6%
Yellow fever 1878 50% 5.6%
Diphtheria 1862-64 83% 16.4%
Cholera 1892 42% 15%

Spanish influenza 1918 30% 1.05%

[***/quote***]

This picture is proudly presented by homeopathy fans and enablers, because it shows “homeopathy works”, “homeopathy is better!!!”. “HOMEOPATHY IS EFFECTIVE IN EPIDEMICS !!!!!!!”

The dates tell us that the real facts are hard to get. The newest date is of incidents in 1918 (Spanish influenza pandemic), 100 years ago. All the others are much older, and the first incident even was in 1813, more than 200 years ago. In the history of medicine that “time of 1800” scene is “dark ages”. In every sense…

It is clear that it was hard to get sources from the USA in the time of printed matter. For decades and decades it was about impossible. With the beginning of the Net it still was about impossible. Only in the last 2 decades this changed, slowly, step by step.

So, during about 80 years since 1918, facts about the Spanish influenza in the USA were hard to get in Europe. But during this time an army of homeopathy frauds shouted unisono: “homeopathy works”, “homeopathy is better!!!”, “HOMEOPATHY IS EFFECTIVE IN EPIDEMICS !!!!!!!”

But the real facts one was about unable to get.

So on one side we had – and still have – a PR army, shouting aggressively that homeopathy is effective, and on the other side there are the citizens all over the countries who can not check the facts. They can not get the truth, and they are lied at day and night. They are victimized.

This is important, because it shows the mechanisms behind the warfare of the pro-homeopathy PR. This warfare did not change. Only, it became more fierce, and now covers the Net.

Searching for the “McCann” mentioned above, one finds a “Dr. Rohrer”, who writes:

“Epidemie und Homöopathie: Geschichte, dokumentierte Erfahrungen, Prophylaxe.
Heilmittel bei schweren Verläufen akut-epidemischer Erkrankungen”
https://www.homeotrust.dpe/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Epidemien-Rohrer.pdf

Or a Stephen Malthouse:

http://www.cmcgc.com/media/handouts/061035/040_Malthouse.pdf

[***quote***]
Homeopathy and Influenza – the Spanish Flu Experience
The Immunity Challenge Conference

Stephen Malthouse, MD
[…]

Comparison of conventional vs.homeopathic outcomes in the Spanish Flu
(Recorded in the J of the American Institute of Homeopathy 1921)

• In Philadelphia 26,795 cases of influenza treated by homeopathic physicians had a mortality rate of 1.05% compared with the “average old school mortality of 30%”.
–Dr. D.W. Pearson (Philadelphia, Penn)

• Dayton Ohio, 24000 case treated allopathically mortality rate 28.2%; homeopathically, 1%
— Dr. T.A. McCann (Dayton Ohio)

• In Connecticut, 30 homeopathic physicians reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, (<1%).

• In a factory in Chicago, Dr Wieland reported treating influenza in 8000 workers, with one death. Gelsemium was practically the only remedy used. He reports no aspirin was used and no vaccines.
[/quote]

Rohrer also mentions a “W. A. Dewey”:

https://www.homeotrust.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Epidemien-Rohrer.pdf

[***quote***]
Eine schöne Übersichtsarbeit über die Behandlung der Grippe von 1918 durch amerikanische Homöopathen ist im Journal des American Institute of Homoeopathy 1921 von W.A. Dewey erschienen (zitiert nach Julian Winston, The Faces of Homoeopathy)
[***/quote***]

Translated by DeepL.com:

[***quote***]
A nice review of the treatment of 1918 flu by American homeopaths was published in the Journal of the American Institute of Homoeopathy 1921 by W.A. Dewey (quoted from Julian Winston, The Faces of Homoeopathy)
[***/quote***]

There is a lot of articles by homeopaths and by their (mostly paid) enablers and PR-folks. They again and again cite each other. Their bibliographic reference lists are long, mostly referencing each other. The 100 years since 1918 are a long time, and in these 100 years homeopathy success history was written just like this, with nothing but claims by homeopathy PR, and a self-referencing army of homeopathy PR folks. But where are the real facts?

Here is a bit about Dewey:

https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-04-11-willis-alonzo-dewey-and-homeopathy/

[***quote***]

Willis Alonzo Dewey 1858 – 1938

Professor of Anatomy and Chair of Materia Medica at the Hahnemann Medical College of the Pacific, the Metropolitan Post Graduate School of Medicine, New York City and the University of Michigan.

He was also editor of the ”California Homœopath” and the The Medical Century. His books are still used by modern homeopaths.

During Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which killed up to 50 million people worldwide, homeopathic physicians in the U.S. reported very low mortality rates among their patients, while flu patients treated by conventional physicians faced mortality rates of around 30 percent.
[***/quote***]

There we see an important detail:

“while flu patients treated by conventional physicians faced mortality rates of around 30 percent.”

The trick applied there is used again and again. The trick is to take some little piece, and then to generalize. The “30 percent” appear to be the grand total, implying that 30 percent of ALL patients died. But that is wrong.

Malthouse writes:

http://www.cmcgc.com/media/handouts/061035/040_Malthouse.pdf
[***quote***]
[…]
Comparison of conventional vs.homeopathic outcomes in the Spanish Flu
(Recorded in the J of the American Institute of Homeopathy 1921)

Note the word “average”. This is a generalization. It is an outrageous lie, because the number of cases was small. And it was collected (if it ever was counted correctly) in a small area. But the homeopathy PR generalizes, they take the percentage even for the whole of the USA.

In one source I found an article about the situation in an Alaskan dwelling, where of 80 inhabitants 72 died. For a medical doctor treating the patients there, the situation was disastrous: a death rate of 90 percent. Take that for the whole USA???

In a web-site on the history of Dayton, Ohio, the real numbers are mentioned (as accurately as was possible – the historical data are hard to find):

https://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/page/page/2753646.htm
[***quote***]
[…]
The pandemic hit in three waves—one in the spring of 1918, one in the fall of 1918, and one in early 1919
[…]
On January 1, 1919, Dayton health officials reported in the paper that there had been 572 deaths from the disease since October and over an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 cases in the city. The Fourteenth Census of the United States in 1920 reported that the population of Dayton had grown from 116,577 in 1910 to 152,559 in 1920.[xxxvii] If the estimated influenza cases are correct, it is safe
[…]
[***/quote***]

With an estimated number of 40,000 patients the number of 572 deaths is 1.43 percent.

But Stephen Malthouse writes:

http://www.cmcgc.com/media/handouts/061035/040_Malthouse.pdf
[***quote***]
• Dayton Ohio, 24000 case treated allopathically mortality rate 28.2%; homeopathically, 1%
— Dr. T.A. McCann (Dayton Ohio)
[***/quote***]

But 28.2 percent of 24000 cases already is 6768! According to McCann there were 6768 dead. Obviously, that is wrong. And this is about the same in other areas.

McCann lied, and the homeopathy PR soldiers like Stephen Malthouse take McCann’s lies, forge them, and multiply the forgeries.

From the beginning on, with 3 main persons, in the past, 100 years ago, who lied and forged, their stories were even more manipulated, forged, and distributed all over the planet by an army of homeopathy believers and hired verbal hitmen.

So we have the following points to note:

Historical medical data is hard to get.
During at least 80 years it was hard to impossible for normal people to get the true facts.
During ALL THE TIME,since the Spanish influenza pandemic in 1918/1919, a vast amount of PR was spread by the homeopathy scene and their enablers.
The homeopathic PR made and makes several fundamental errors, and even forges statistical data. And it lies.

4.a) The homeopathic PR generalizes figures from small areas and incidents, and claims these figures to be valid for larger groups, even for the whole USA or even worldwide.

4.b) The homeopathy writers do use statistics. So they do know how to correctly use the figures. But they still forge. They do not forge by accident, they do forge by will.

4.c) The first forgeries already were committed by homeopaths in the time of 1918 and the next following years.

4.d) The homeopathic PR is an impostoring, in which a large number of persons only cite each other. But the real origin is a very small group back in the years 1918 and some few following years.

Now let’s take the next step. All the so many articles are nothing but babble. No real facts. The only persons who really did write a bit of facts were those of the early years, of 1918 and the following years. Actually, the whole “proof” is by about 3 persons:

1.
Thomas Addison McCann, 25.9.1858- 7.11.1943
(https://lisarickey.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/bio-sketch-dr-thomas-a-mccann-1858-1943-homeopathic-doctor-in-dayton-ohio/)

2.
Willis Alonzo Dewey 1858 – 1938
https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-04-11-willis-alonzo-dewey-and-homeopathy/

3.
Dr. D.W. Pearson (Philadelphia, Penn)
http://www.cmcgc.com/media/handouts/061035/040_Malthouse.pdf

For about 100 years now the whole “proof” for the efficacy of homeopathy against the Spanish influenza pandemic is based on the lies of mainly these 3 persons.

Hard to find, but not impossible to find are these original papers:

https://ia802701.us.archive.org/23/items/pathicreco33inte/pathicreco33inte.pdf

https://ia801900.us.archive.org/4/items/pathicreco34inte/pathicreco34inte.pdf

https://ia802603.us.archive.org/15/items/pathicreco35inte/pathicreco35inte.pdf

https://ia601601.us.archive.org/20/items/pathicreco36inte/pathicreco36inte.pdf

https://ia601601.us.archive.org/31/items/pathicreco37inte/pathicreco37inte.pdf

That are 5 volumes of a homeopathic magazine. And this now is an article by W.A.Dewey in the “Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy”, 1921, Volume 13: pages 1038 – 1043:

W. A. Dewey
“Homeopathy in influenza: a chorus of fifty in harmony”
“Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy”, 1921, Volume 13: pages 1038 – 1043

These are the pages of the scans as pictures:

Page 1038:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1038.jpg

Page 1039:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1039.jpg

Page 1040:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1040.jpg

Page 1041:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1041.jpg

Page 1042:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1042.jpg

Page 1043:
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~aktenschrank/homoeopathen_wahn/LUEGENBOLD_HOMOEOPATH_DEWEY_SEITE_1043.jpg

The OCR was NOT available in public, but was made by members of the TG-1 forum using an Internet trick:

[***quote***]
Dies ist die HTML-Version der Datei
https://www.ecampnd.com/homeopathy/A_Chorus_of_Fifty_in_Harmony.pdf

Page 1
~
CLINICAL MEDICINE
By David B. Jewett, M. D., Department Editor

[b]HOMEOPATHY IN INFLUENZA-A CHORUS OR FIFTY IN HARMONY
By W. A. Dewey, M. D., University of Michigan[/b]

In a plant of 8,000 workers we had only one death. The
patients were not drugged to death. Gelsemium was practically
the only remedy used. We used no Aspirin and no vaccines
–Frank Wieland, M. D., Chicago.

Absence of the customary drugging was also an element of
the remarkable success in this plant.—Burton Haseltine, M. D.
Chicago.

There is one drug which directly or indirectly was the cause
of the loss of more lives than was influenza itself. You all
know that drug. It claims to be Salicylic acid. Aspirin’s history
has been printed. Today you don’t know what the sedative action
of Salicylic acid is. It did harm in two ways. Its indirect action
came through the fact that Aspirin was taken until prostration
resulted and the patient developed pncumonia.-Frank L. New-
ton, M. D., Somerville, Mass.

I did not lose a single case of influenza; my death rate in
the pneumonias was 2.1%. The salycilates, including Aspirin
and Quinine, were almost the sole standbys of the old school and
it was a common thing to hear them speaking of losing 60% of
their pneumonias.—Dudley A. Williams, M. D., Providence R. I,

Three hundred and fifty cases and lost one, a neglected pneu-
monia that came to me after she had taken one hundred grains
of Aspirin in twenty-four hours.-Cora Smith King, M. D.,
Washington, D. C.

Dean W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26,795 cases of
influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality of
1.05%, while the average old school mortality is 30%.

My low death rate at Camp Lee was due entirely to the fact
that I avoided the use of Aspirin absolutely. I was complimenteri
by the chief medical officer as having the lowest death rate in
the hospital. After the medical chief had noted the effect of
Aspirin on the blood and the results which I was having in using
Homeopathy he discouraged the use of Aspirin and the death

1038
Page 2
May, 1921
HOMEOPATHY IN INFLUENZA-DEWEY
1039

rate came down very rapidly after that ruling.-Carleton A.
Harkness, M. D., Chicago.

In Hahnemann Hospital of San Francisco, homeopathic
remedies acted in a curative way while, with some other forms
of treatment, the result was only palliative.-Laura A. Hurd,
M. D., San Francisco.

Fifteen hundred cases were reported at the Homeopathic
Medical Society of the District of Columbia with but fifteen
deaths. Recoveries in the National Homeopathic Hospital were
100%.-E. F. Sappington, M. D., Philadelphia.

I attended over one hundred cases without any fatalities. I
never deviated from the homeopathic remedy. I never gave
Aspirin. One case that was loaded with Aspirin before I saw
him, referred to me from an old school physician, died. This
epidemic should encourage us to renewed faith in Homeopathy.
–G. H. Wright, -M. D., Foresi Glen, Md.

The German Aspirin has killed more people than the German
bullets killed.–C. J. Loizeaux, M. D., Des Moines, Iowa.

I remember Acetanilid in the epidemic of 1889 and its fatal-
ities. In this epidemic I knew that Aspirin and the coal tar
products would kill more people than the disease itself and it has
so proved. One old school physician told me that he had gotten
wise to the fact that Aspirin was killing his patients and that he
had stopped using it and was relying on homeopathic and eclectic
remedies.-E. B. Finney, M. D., Lincoln, Neb.

Thirty physicians in Connecticut responded to my request for
data. They reported 6,602 cases with 55 deaths, which is less
than 1%. In the transport service I had 81 cases on the way
over. All recovered and were landed. Every man received
homeopathic treatment. One ship lost 31 on the way.-H. A.
Roberts, M. D., Derby, Conn.

Homeopathy saved patients with influenza and pneumonia,
ill luck always followed the coal tar derivatives, Aspirin espe-
cially.-W. H. Hanchett, M. D., Omaha, Neb.

Through the International Hahnemannian Association I have
collected over 17,000 cases of influenza with a mortality of 4%.
-G. B. Stearns, M. D., New York.

I had 300 cases and one death; one good homeopathic doctor
had 275 cases and no deaths. I am health officer of my city.
One old school man had 294 cases and reported 15 deaths.
Aspirin and Iodized lime were the remedies used by the oli
school.-H. H. Crum, M. D., Ithaca, N. Y.

Page 3
1040 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HOMEOPATHY

I treated 455 cases of influenza and 26 cases of pneumonia
with no deaths. Remedics: Gelsomium, Bryonia. Epis, cte.
-T. G. Barnhill, M. D., Findlay, Ohio.

The importance of homeopathic remedies has been empha-
sized; 24 out of 42 cases who used vaccines had influenza and
there were 8 cases of pneumonia-so vaccines as a prophylactic
failed.-W. L. Love, M, D., Brooklyn.

Eleven men reported 3,600 cases with 6 (leaths. My records
show 750 cases with one death. Gelsomium, Bryonia and Eupa-
torium werc the remedies chiefly.-F. A. Swartwout, M. D.,
Washington, D. C.

The more Aspirin, Codein, Dobell’s solution and other extra-
homeopathic remedies used the slower the recovery.-James II’.
Ward, M. D., San Francisco.

The mortality rate in a camp was for pneumonia 25.8%.
The lieutenant in charge was persuaded to discontinue Aspirin,
Digitalis and Quinine and the mortality dropped speedily to 156
with no medicine whatever. This was in one ward. Where-
upon it was ordered in other wards and the mortality «dropped to
15% with no medicine.-W. A. Pearson, M. D., Philadelphia.

I treated 618 cases and had 5 (deaths. Three of these had had
allopathic treatment.-R. S. Faris, M. D., Richmond, Va.

One physician in a Pittsburgh hospital asked a nurse if she
knew anything better than what he was doing, because he was
losing many cases. “Yes, Doctor, stop Aspirin and go down to
a homeopathic pharmacy, and get homeopathic remedies.” The
Doctor replied: “But that is Homeopathy.” “I know it, but the
homeopathic doctors for whom I have nursed have not lost a
single case.”—W.F. Edmundson, M. D., Pittsburgh.

It is a rare thing for pneumonia to develop i? a good home-
opathic physician is called during the first 24 hours of an attack
of influenza. An appalling death rate comes from the handful
results of large doses of Aspirin, salicylates and opium prepara-
tions.-A. H. Grinimer, M. D., Chicago

Murphy, of Lansing, Michigan, treated 323 cases of influenza
in a camp where the mortality had been 20%, while the mortality
under his homeopathic treatment was less than 3%.-W. H. Wil-
son, M. D., Chicago.

I have treated 1,000 cases of influenza. I have the records
to show my work. I have no losses. Please give all credit to
Homeopathy and none to the Scotch-Irish-American !—T. A. Mc-
Cann, M. D., Dayton, Ohio.

Page 4
May, 1921
HOMEOPATHY IN INFLUENZA-DEWEY
1041

In the month of October, 1918, I treated, in round numbers,
200 cases of influenza without a death.—W. R. Andrews, M. D.,
Mannington, W. Va.

Dr. M. I. Boger of Portsmouth, N. H., treated 331 cases
with 2 deaths. Dr. G. G. Bascom of Lake Wilson, Minn., 300
cases with no deaths.-E. C. Prica, M. D., Baltimore.

The word Homeopathy stands for so much that is good and
true and useful in the medicinal therapy of the year of our
Lord 1919.-(). S. Haines, M. D., Philadelphia.

I have treated 267 cases of influenza. No deaths.-A. B.
llawes, M. D., Bridgewater, S. D.

In one month treated 65 cases of influenza with one death
and that in a tubercular case.-F. C. Thornhill, M. D., Alma,
Mich.

One of the principal druggists of Montreal told Dr. T. A.
McCann that they had lost 900 patients from influenza. Being
asked what drug they used most he replied that Aspirin was
used more than all other drugs combined. The directions were
to take a 5-grain tablet every three hours, but more took ten
grains every three hours. Comment is unnecessary.

Seventy-six cases (developed in the Children’s Home without
any complicating pneumonia or death. Most of the cases were
on Bryonia and Gelsemium, which seemed to be successful in
carrying them through to complete recovery.-J. G. Dillon, M. D.,
largo, N. D.

It has been my experience that Gelsemium was most always
the first remedy and served the purpose well in early conditions.
-E. B. I looker, M. D., Hartford, Conn.

I had a package handed to me containing 1,000 Aspirin tal-
lets, which was 994 too many. I think I gave about a half dozen.
I could find no place for it. My remedies were few. I almost
invariably gave Gelsemium and Bryonia. I hardly ever lost a
case if I got there first, unless the patient had been sent to a
drug store and bought Aspirin, in which event I was likely to
have a case of pneumonia on my hands.-J. P. Huff, M. D..
Olive Brancl?, Ky.

Aspirin and the other coal tar products are condemned as
causing great numbers of unnecessary deaths. The omnipresent
Aspirin is the most pernicious drug of all. It beguiles by its
quick action of relief of pain, a relief which is but meretricious.
In several cases Aspirin weakened the heart, depressed the vital
forces, increased the mortality in mild cases and made conva-

Page 5
1042 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HOMEOPATHY

lescence slower. In all cases it masks the symptoms and render:
immeasurably more difficult the selection of the curative remedie
Apparently Aspirin bears no curative relation to any disease and
it ought to be prohibited.—Guy Beckly Stearns, M. D., New York.

One thousand eclectic physicians were asked to name the
remedies most useful in influenza and in pneumonia. Over
75% named Aconite and Bryonia in pneumonia.-Lloyd Broth-
crs, Cincinnati.

Experimental research conducted in the Hygienic Laboratory,
Washington, D. C., failed to show any evidence in favor of
vaccine in pneumonia. “Imagine such a confession relative to
our own well-tried remedies, Gelsemium, Rhus tox., Eupatorium,
etc., whose indications are fixed, definite, unchangeable and per-
manent.”—Homeopathic Recorder, October, 1920.

In the Public Health service in New Mexico among the
Mexican population chiefly Veratrum viride, Gelsemium and
Bryonia were introduced and excellent results followed their use
in influenza. No cases died under homeopathic medication.-C.
E. Fisher, M. D., Chicago.

The reasons why children fared better than adults in the
influenza epidemic were, first, they were seen earlier by the
physician; second, they were not drugged with “sure cures”;
third, they were not filled up with Aspirin; fourth, they were
put to bed; and fifth, they were given the proper remedy and
had a fine chance.-Dr. J. P. Cobb, Chicago.

All of the people under my care who died of influenza had
of their own accord taken Aspirin before I saw them.-W. P.
Best, M. D., Indianapolis.

There may be some hearts that can withstand Aspirin; there
may be some hearts that can withstand influenza; but there are
no hearts that can withstand both Aspirin and influenza.–Dr.
Taylor, Philadelphia.

Gelsemium does not depress the heart and is superior to
Aspirin and other coal tar derivatives in all particulars for
La Grippe.-J. A. Munk, M. D)., Los Angeles.

Many patients had been advised to take Aspirin as a prophy-
lactic against influenza and influenza pneumonia. One lady had
taken 240 grains in 48 hours. She was sent to the hospital
diagnosed as scarlet fever because of the red spots on her body.
Many cases who came to the hospital (Haynes Memorial) were
filled up with Aspirin, Codein, Morphine and Digitalis. Men in
government work praised our hospital for its homeopathic treat-

Page 6
May, 1921
HOMEOPATHY IN INFLUENZA-DEWEY
1043

ment in influenza. They do not all agree, however, but they have
a feeling in Boston that we have a wonderful treatment for
influenza.-Samuel Clement, M. D., Boston.

During the “flu” period almost every victim got his Aspirin.
Almost everybody believed in it because it relieved his distress
and “couldn’t do him any harm.” The result was that thousands
died who might have lived had they been willing to bear dis-
comfort for a little while. They died like flies around a plate of
poison although “science” did all that could be done to “save”
them.–A. F. Stevens, M. D., St. Louis.

We treated over 300 cases of influenza among the members
of the Student Army Training Corps with no deaths. Gelsemiun,
Bryonia and Ferum phosphoricum were the leading remedies.
Only in those cases having had Aspirin was convalescence delayed
and pneumonia produced.-C. B. Stouffer, M. D., Ann Arbor.
In some 150 cases treated in the first “Flu” epidemic Gel-
semium and Bryonia were the chicf remedies. Very few had
pneumonia, none that I treated from the beginning. Only one
died under my care, a man of sixty, having had asthma and
brought into our Minnesota climate in the midst of a severe win-
ter, a truly septic pneumonia.—Wm. E. Leonard, M. D., Min-
neapolis.

I treated approximately 50 cases of influenza, had two pneu-
monias, one in a pregnant woman. All recovered. Remedies
Gelsemium, Bryonia and Rhus, chiefly.–Wm. Boericke, M. D.,
San Francisco.

I treated over 100 cases of influenza and pneumonia, lost two
cases, one who had taken Aspirin for a week when pneumonia
developed before I was called; the other a very malignant case
with very high temperature from the onset. Remedies : Gel-
semium, Eupatorium, Bryonia, etc.-C. P. Bryant, M. D., Seattle.
I treated approximately 500 cases which included much pneu-
monia, lost two cases; never used Aspirin nor permitted it to be
used. . Chief drugs used were Belladonna, Gelsemium, Sticta for
the throat symptoms, Mercurius, Natrum muriaticum and Kali
muriaticum-A. B. Palmer, M. D., Seattle.

A permanent international association for the prevention of
tuberculosis, composed of representatives of all nations signatory
to the League of Nations covenant and of the United States, was
formied, October 19th, at an international antituberculosis con-
ference in Paris. The first meeting will be held in the fall of
1921 at London.
[***/quote***]

“Willis Alonzo Dewey”, treated by others as if HE had written something substantial, actually only collected some few quotes. There is no real source given. There are no scientific studies. It all is only hear and say. And it is forged.

As one can see here, where Pearson is cited:

[***quote***]
Dean W. A. Pearson of Philadelphia collected 26,795 cases of
influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality of
1.05%, while the average old school mortality is 30%.
[***/quote***]

The source is W.A.Pearson. But now Willis Alonzo Dewey is a second source for the very same statement, which in reality is from the very same source. So it is no NEUTRAL confirmation.

Pearson of Philadelphia, we already know he is a liar, is accompanied by Willis Alonzo Dewey for the very same claim:

“influenza treated by homeopathic physicians with a mortality of 1.05%,
while the average old school mortality is 30%.”

Already Pearson must have realized that his figures are wrong.

Real historical data of Philadelphia:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/pennhistory.84.4.0462#metadata_info_tab_contents

[***quote***]
The 1918 Spanish Influenza: Three Months of Horror in Philadelphia
Christina M. Stetler Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation

In the fall of 1918, the world came to a virtual standstill while Spanish influenza raged. In the United States, no other city suffered more than Philadelphia. The virus entered via the Philadelphia Navy Yard, arriving on a ship from Boston. As soldiers fell victim to the virus, city authorities believed the outbreak was under control and continued with plans to kick off the Fourth Liberty Loan drive with a parade September 28. After 200,000 people jammed the parade route, the virus exploded in the civilian population. For three months, hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians battled the virus, which, at the end, took over 13,000 lives. Schools, churches, saloons, and theaters closed, thirty-two emergency hospitals opened, and burying the dead became almost impossible. By November, the disease receded, and while the flu continued into the spring, its virulence decreased. As quickly and deadly as it struck Philadelphia, the influenza epidemic receded from collective memory and, largely forgotten, is barely mentioned in discussions of World War I.
[…]
[***/quote***]

Several hundred thousand people fell ill with influenza. So, according to the claim “while the average old school mortality is 30%”, there should have been several times 30,000 dead. For each 100,000 citizens ill with influenza there should have been 30,000 dead.

But the real total was were short of 14,000:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734171/

[***quote***]
Table 1
Source and number of deaths (from all causes) recorded by selected locations during the 1918 flu pandemic.

Source and number of deaths (from all causes) recorded by selected locations during the 1918 flu pandemic.
Location Source of data Number of deaths, October 1918 (all causes)
Number of deaths Sept-Dec 1918 (all causes)
Number of deaths Sept-Dec 1918 (flu)
Montreal (City) Parish registers 3046 5366 N/A
Toronto (City) Civil registers 1885 3071 2199
Hamilton (City) Civil registers 175 962 542
Ottawa (City) Civil registers 632 1100 640
London (City) Civil registers 178 538 290
Welland & Lincoln (County) Civil registers 319 907 550
Winnipeg (City) Civil register indexes 216 1381 N/A
Vancouver (City) Civil register indexes 532 1291 N/A
Philadelphia (City) Civil registers, from [9] 14621 21780 13936
Indiana (State) Civil registers, from [9] 5821 19270 9940
Kansas (State) Civil registers, from [9] 3297 10983 5965
[***/quote***]

One does not have to be a mathematics genius to realize the difference. And the contemporaries of the 1918/1918 pandemic did know the real figures, because they lived just right there.

So, Pearson is a liar, Dewey is an unscrupulous fraud, and the people parroting the old lies today are too stupid and too lazy to check the figures correctly. And/or they lie…

If you want to go deeper in statistics etc, go and read in the TG-1, where a lot of material is shown and analyzed.

Now to some other aspects.

The homeopaths boast with comparisons like these:

[***quote***]

Homeopathy’s track record in epidemics

Epidemic Mortality Mortality
conventional homeopathic
treatment treatment

Typhus 1813 30% 1.5%
Cholera 1830 40% 7-10%
Cholera 1854 59% 9%
Yellow fever 1850 15% 6%
Yellow fever 1878 50% 5.6%
Diphtheria 1862-64 83% 16.4%
Cholera 1892 42% 15%

Spanish influenza 1918 30% 1.05%

[***/quote***]

But there is missing something important: “no treatment”. Placebo against a strong virus is no treatment. A virus attack is a war in biology, at short about the lowest possible molecular level. Placebos are worthless!

One thing we do know: the conventional medicine at that time, in 1918, made some really big mistakes. One was to give influenza patients aspirin. To make it worse: give the aspirin in high doses. And to make it worst: in many cases the doses were so high that the patients were POISONED by the aspirin. Aspirin was lethal.

We can not compare the health systems of today with what as done as “medicine” in 1918.

First, there we no comparable healthcare systems like today.

Second, the scientific medical knowledge of that time was a microscopic fraction of what we know today.

So, the comparison by the homeopaths is misleading. Misleading by will. Because it IS possible to compare both homeopathy and conventional medicine with “no treatment”: by looking at what happened in other countries. In the TG-1 forum data from Kenia is shown.

“Sehen wir uns ein ganz anderes Gebiet an: Kenia.”
http://www.transgallaxys.com/~kanzlerzwo/index.php?topic=11618.msg28814#msg28814

Mortality: 2.5 percent.

Mortality varied. In the area hit worst the INFECTION rate was about 38 percent, in the area with lowest rate it was 3.3 percent.

[***quote***]
From September 1918 through December 1918, approximately 31,908 cases and 4593 deaths associated with 1918 pandemic influenza were reported from the five districts (Table 2). Nyika district reported the first cases in late September 1918, however the first fatal case was documented in Taita Taveta district on 1 November 1918. By 11 November 1918 all five districts had been affected. Mortality and morbidity varied considerably by district, although reports of the number of influenza cases were only available for three of the five districts and varied widely; from 1217 (33.0/1000) in Mombasa to 20,000 (281.1/1000) in Nyika, the largest district, and highest rates in Taita Taveta (380.0/1000)
[***/quote***]

This is the source: a study made in 2019: “Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Coastal Kenya”

https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/4/2/91/htm

https://www.mdpi.com/tropicalmed/tropicalmed-04-00091/article_deploy/html/images/tropicalmed-04-00091-g004.png

[***quote***]
Open Access Article
Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Coastal Kenya
by Fred Andayi 1, Sandra S. Chaves 1,2 and Marc-Alain Widdowson 3,4,*
1 Influenza Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kenya, Nairobi 00621, Kenya
2 Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA
3 Division of Global Health Protection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kenya, Nairobi 00621, Kenya
4 Division of Global Health Protection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2019, 4(2), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed4020091

Received: 15 March 2019 / Revised: 28 May 2019 / Accepted: 30 May 2019 / Published: 8 June 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding, Preventing and Controlling Influenza: 100th Anniversary of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic)
Download PDF Browse Figures
Review Reports

Abstract

The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most significant pandemic recorded in human history. Worldwide, an estimated half billion persons were infected and 20 to 100 million people died in three waves during 1918 to 1919. Yet the impact of this pandemic has been poorly documented in many countries especially those in Africa. We used colonial-era records to describe the impact of 1918 influenza pandemic in the Coast Province of Kenya. We gathered quantitative data on facility use and all-cause mortality from 1912 to 1925, and pandemic-specific data from active reporting from September 1918 to March 1919. We also extracted quotes from correspondence to complement the quantitative data and describe the societal impact of the pandemic. We found that crude mortality rates and healthcare utilization increased six- and three-fold, respectively, in 1918, and estimated a pandemic mortality rate of 25.3 deaths/1000 people/year. Impact to society and the health care system was dramatic as evidenced by correspondence. In conclusion, the 1918 pandemic profoundly affected Coastal Kenya. Preparation for the next pandemic requires continued improvement in surveillance, education about influenza vaccines, and efforts to prevent, detect and respond to novel influenza outbreaks.
[/quote]

So, the table should be extended. One figure can be added: for Kenya:

[***quote***]

Homeopathy’s track record in epidemics

Epidemic Mortality Mortality Mortality
conventional homeopathic little or
treatment treatment no treatment

Typhus 1813 30% 1.5% ?
Cholera 1830 40% 7-10% ?
Cholera 1854 59% 9% ?
Yellow fever 1850 15% 6% ?
Yellow fever 1878 50% 5.6% ?
Diphtheria 1862-64 83% 16.4% ?
Cholera 1892 42% 15% ?

Spanish influenza 1918 30% 1.05% 2.5% (example Kenya)

[***/quote***]

One point to note: The homeopathic “doctors” did more than just nothing, and the people around the patients did more than just nothing. But this still does not explain the low figure AT THAT VERY SPOT WHERE THAT FIGURE “1.05%” allegedly comes from. Homeopathy is no medicine. It is fraud.

An other vital point: WHEN did the pandemic strike? In war time. It attacked at the end of World War I:

World War I
Date: 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918

Here is a picture of the statistics:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYCaYqJXYAIXvUz?format=jpg&name=large

It was war. Nonetheless, TODAY homeopathy freaks make claims like this:

Spanische Grippe in den USA:
30% der schwangeren Frauen mit Pneumonie starben unter konventioneller Behandlung. Unter homöopathischer Behandlung starben 0,7%.
— Tertiärdelikt ? ? ? (@tertiaerdelikt) March 24, 2020

[***quote***]
Tertiärdelikt ? @tertiaerdelikt
Spanische Grippe in den USA:
30% der schwangeren Frauen mit Pneumonie starben unter konventioneller Behandlung. Unter homöopathischer Behandlung starben 0,7%.
9:10 AM · Mar 24, 2020·Twitter Web App
[/quote]

Translated by DeepL.com:

[***quote***]
Tertiärdelikt ? @tertiaerdelikt

Spanish flu in the USA:
30% of pregnant women with pneumonia died under conventional treatment. Under homeopathic treatment 0.7% died.
9:10 AM – Mar 24, 2020-Twitter Web App
[***/quote***]

It was war, statistics were a disaster, no anti-viral treatment was possible, AND THEN someone makes this insane claim:

[***quote***]
30% of pregnant women with pneumonia died under conventional treatment. Under homeopathic treatment 0.7% died.
[***/quote***]

Or, someone else calls himself a homeopathic historian and a scientist: Andre Saine:

https://homeopathy.ca/debates_2013-03-22_SummaryResponseFromAndreSaine.shtml

At that time, in 1918, there were no statistics in the coverage we have today. AND, still being in World War I, statistics did not have the priority #1. People fought for their lives. So, that already catastrophic situation of being at war was complicated by a lethal pandemic. And all the homeopathic heroes of that time and later did was cherry-picking of LOCAL incidents and mixing them up – and forge.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/pennhistory.84.4.0462#metadata_info_tab_contents

[***quote***]
The 1918 Spanish Influenza: Three Months of Horror in Philadelphia
Christina M. Stetler Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation

[…]
As quickly and deadly as it struck Philadelphia, the influenza epidemic receded from collective memory and, largely forgotten, is barely mentioned in discussions of World War I.
[…]
[***/quote***]

Countries were exhausted, food and medical supplies were short, and then came winter. The whole world had gone mad. This changes the situation in several ways, compared with other epidemics or pandemics.

So there are more points to note:

The scientific medical knowledge of that time was a microscopic fraction of what we know today.
The conventional medicine of that time, 1918, was developed very low. The use (and abuse) of aspirin, for instance, lead to many treatments ending deadly. This does in no way mean that homeopathy is efficient.
At that time, in 1918, the healthcare was very low. Hospitals were only badly equipped. If the patients were brought to hospitals at all.
The comparison “homeopathy versus ‘school medicine'” is extremely faulty, because it ignores a vital aspect: comparison with placebo (no real medication).
The pandemic occurred at the end of World War I, where statistics were of minor importance (compared with the fight for staying alive). Most statistics were incomplete and/or kept secret because of the war.
The sources of that time are not reliable. Especially the sources of homeopathic “doctors” are crap. As can be seen (see above) in “HOMEOPATHY IN INFLUENZA-A CHORUS OR FIFTY IN HARMONY”
By W. A. Dewey, M. D., University of Michigan
https://www.ecampnd.com/homeopathy/A_Chorus_of_Fifty_in_Harmony.pdf

The sources are piles of headlines and claims, but no real detailed sources of real studies. Any fairy tale is just as credible as that crap by the homeopaths. But, still, the homeopaths of today hail the old heroes and their alleged “superiority”. See the mentioned text

The forgers DO KNOW the statistical facts. Just an example: “Epidemie und Homöopathie: Geschichte, dokumentierte Erfahrungen, Prophylaxe.
Heilmittel bei schweren Verläufen akut-epidemischer Erkrankungen”
https://www.homeotrust.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Epidemien-Rohrer.pdf

[***quote***]
[…]
W.A. Pearson in Philadelphia dokumentierte 26.795 behandelte Fälle von Grippe durch verschiedene Homöopathen mit einer Mortalität von 1.05%, wobei in Amerika die durchschnittliche Todesrate auch bei 30% der schulmedizinisch behandelten lag.

[…]

Winkle schreibt: „Innerhalb eines Jahres (1918) betrug die Zahl der Todesfälle an Grippe in Deutschland 187884. Bei der Zugrundelegung einer Letalität von 1,3 bis 1,5 Prozent bedeutet diese Zahl 20 Millionen Erkrankungen allein in Deutschland.“ Insgesamt kann die Zahl der Erkrankten und der Todesopfer nur geschätzt werden und wird meist zwischen 20 und 50 Millionen Menschen angegeben. Indien war z.B. ganz schwer betroffen und man schätzt die Zahl der Todesopfer auf ca. 18 Millionen. Auch China war sehr schwer betroffen, ohne dass genaue Aufzeichnungen über die Todesopfer existieren. F. M. Burnet schätzt in einen Artikel der Zeitschrift Intervirology 1979 die Zahl der Todesopfer auf der ganzen Welt möglicherweise bis zu 100 Millionen, wobei weltweit zwischen 200 und 700 Millionen Menschen möglicherweise erkrankt waren (zitiert nach S. Perko).
[…]
[***/quote***]

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator :

[***quote***]
[…]
W.A. Pearson in Philadelphia documented 26,795 treated cases of influenza by various homeopaths with a mortality rate of 1.05%, although in America the average death rate was also 30% of those treated by conventional medicine.

[…]

Winkle writes: “Within one year (1918), the number of deaths from influenza in Germany was 187884. Assuming a mortality rate of 1.3 to 1.5 percent, this figure means 20 million cases of influenza in Germany alone”. Overall, the number of people who fall ill and the number of deaths can only be estimated and is usually given as between 20 and 50 million people. India, for example, was severely affected and the death toll is estimated at around 18 million. China was also very seriously affected, without any exact records of the fatalities. F. M. Burnet, in an article in the journal Intervirology in 1979, estimates the number of deaths worldwide to be possibly up to 100 million, with between 200 and 700 million people worldwide possibly having fallen ill (quoted after S. Perko).
[…]
[***/quote***]

Look at this statement:

[***quote***]
Assuming a mortality rate of 1.3 to 1.5 percent, this figure means 20 million cases of influenza in Germany alone”.
[***/quote***]

Assuming a mortality? For total Germany? Of 1.3 to 1.5 percent? So THEY DO KNOW how low the figure actually is: 1.3 to 1.5 percent. This shows that all their contrary claims are lies. And they do know it, especially those, who claim to do historical studies.

Now back to the “statistics” from the very beginning:

[***quote***]

Homeopathy’s track record in epidemics

Epidemic Mortality Mortality
conventional homeopathic
treatment treatment

Typhus 1813 30% 1.5%
Cholera 1830 40% 7-10%
Cholera 1854 59% 9%
Yellow fever 1850 15% 6%
Yellow fever 1878 50% 5.6%
Diphtheria 1862-64 83% 16.4%
Cholera 1892 42% 15%

Spanish influenza 1918 30% 1.05%

[***/quote***]

As can be shown, the claims by the homeopathy PR concerning the influenza pandemic 1918/1919 are false. The pandemic took place in 1918-1919, in a time we have SOME facts about. The other figures in that “statistics” picture are of incidents in the dark ages of medicine, in the dark ages of human history, and, so, are only some artefacts, which in no way can be put together to build a VALID statistical representation of what happened in those times. They are nothing but totally worthless crap. And the key figures of the homeopathy PR do know that.

In other words: The claims about the efficacy of homeopathy in past epidemics and pandemics are rotten lies.

This, again, renders ALL the claims by the homeopathy PR – and of and by the homeopathic “science” – useless crap. There is no science, there is no truth. There is only lies and forgeries.

30 –

Posted in DreiNull | Comments Off on Homeopathic mass fraud concerning claimed efficacy of homeopathy in epidemics

Look who signed it! David L. Katz!

Friday, May 8th, 2020

We are faced with David L. Katz, the very David L. Katz we already know, and who I wrote about in

“J’accuse: Prof. David L. Katz knowingly supports a lethal cancer fraud”
http://www.healbreastcancerawards.org/#davidkatz_2

The text of the open letter is published in several languages. I so far found Dutch, German, English, and Spanish.

Madness rules.

https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/health_disinfo_letter/

[***quote***]
Health Professionals Sound Alarm Over Social Media Infodemic

As doctors, nurses and health experts from around the world, we are here to sound the alarm. Our job is to keep people safe. But right now we face not only a COVID-19 pandemic but a global infodemic, with viral misinformation on social media threatening lives around the world.

Stories claiming cocaine is a cure, or that COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon by China or the US, have spread faster than the virus itself. Tech companies have tried to act, taking down certain content when it is flagged, and allowing the World Health Organization to run free ads.

But their efforts are far from enough.

The tsunami of false and misleading content about the coronavirus is not an isolated outbreak of disinformation, it’s part of a global plague. On Facebook, we have seen claims that chlorine dioxide helps people suffering from autism and cancer; that millions of Americans were given a “cancer virus” via the polio shot; that ADHD was “invented by big pharma”. The list goes on.

By promoting bogus cures, or scaring people off vaccines and effective treatments, these lies matter. And they travel far — one Facebook post claiming ginger is 10,000 times more effective at beating cancer than chemotherapy has been liked, shared and commented on almost 30,000 times.

That’s why today we are calling on the tech giants to take immediate systemic action to stem the flow of health misinformation, and the public health crisis it has triggered.

Working in hospitals, clinics and public health departments across the globe we are all too familiar with the real-world impacts of this infodemic. It’s us who treat the toddlers hospitalised for measles, a completely avoidable disease once eliminated in countries like the US but now on the rise largely thanks to anti-vaxxer propaganda.

Not only do we health professionals deal with such repercussions, but often we are blamed. Misinformation thus dents the morale of an already strained profession, while the financial cost of battling it eats into badly over-stretched budgets.

The diagnosis is grim, so what can be done?

Social media platforms must start with two obvious and urgent steps.

First, they must correct the record on health misinformation. This means alerting and notifying every single person who has seen or interacted with health misinformation on their platforms, and sharing a well-designed and independently fact-checked correction — something shown to help prevent users believing harmful lies. While platforms like Facebook have already moved to label fact-checked misinformation, this system does not go far enough since millions of people may have seen a post before it is fact-checked and labeled. That is why we are urgently calling on Facebook to alert ALL users who have fallen victim to such content, which means going a step further than labeling by providing users with retroactive corrections.

Second, the platforms must detox the algorithms that decide what people see. This means harmful lies, and the pages and groups that share them, are downgraded in user feeds, instead of being amplified. Harmful misinformation, and pages and channels that belong to repeat offenders who spread it, should also be removed from the algorithms that recommend content. These algorithms currently prioritise keeping users online over safeguarding their health, and that ends up downgrading humanity’s well-being.

Technology companies who have both facilitated the spread of ideas and profited from it have a unique power and responsibility to counter the deadly spread of misinformation and stop social media from making our communities sicker. To save lives and restore trust in science-based healthcare, tech giants must stop giving oxygen to the lies, smears and fantasies that threaten us all.

For media inquiries, please contact media@avaaz.org.

If you are a health professional and want to sign on:
Initial Signatories

Elodie Ghedin, PhD
Professor of Biology and Global Public Health at New York University

James M. Hughes, MD
Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Emory University

Jonathan D. Quick, MD, MPH
Adjunct Professor of Global Health, Duke Global Health Institute

Joseph Fair, PhD, MSPH
Science Contributor, NBC/MSNBC News
Senior Fellow in Pandemic Policy, The Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University
Senior Fellow in Global Health, The Smithsonian Institution

Peter G. Lurie, MD, MPH
President, Center for Science in the Public Interest

Abdul El-Sayed, MD, DPhil
Chair, Southpaw Michigan
Former Health Director, Detroit Health Department

Michelle Morse, MD, MPH
Founding Co-Director, EqualHealth
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Duncan Maru, MD, PhD
Epidemiologist and Physician
Senior Faculty, Arnhold Institute for Global Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Co-Founder, Possible

Irwin Redlener, MD
Director, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University
Professor of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics, Columbia University

Dan Schwarz, MD, MPH
Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Instructor, Harvard Medical School

Doctors for America
Evan T. Saulino, MD, PhD
Board Chair

Glen Nowak, PhD
Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication, University of Georgia

Joseph A. Hill, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Molecular Biology, Chief of Cardiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Gregg Gonsalves, PhD
Assistant Professor, Yale School of Public Health

Catarina de Oliveira Paulo
Infectious Diseases specialist
Portuguese National Health System (SNS)

David Citrin, PhD, MPH
Director of Evidence to Policy, Possible Health
Affiliate Assistant Professor, University of Washington

ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)

Rafael Vilasanjuan
Director of Analysis, ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)

Donal Bisanzio, PhD
Senior Epidemiologist, RTI International

Isha Nirola
DrPH candidate in public health

Maciej F. Boni, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University

Meenakshi Bewtra, MD, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Michael Head
Senior Research Fellow in Global Health

Patricia Powers, RN
Staff Nurse, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Philip Lederer, MD
Assistant Professor, Dept of Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine

Rachel Nugent, PhD
Vice President, Center for Noncommunicable Diseases, RTI International

Ricardo Mexia, MD, MPH, EPIET
President of the Portuguese Association of Public Health Doctors

Ron Waldman, MD, MPH
Professor of Global Health, George Washington University
President, Doctors of the World – USA

Saikat Roy
Medical Officer, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh

Sheela Maru, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Global Health, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Attending physician at Elmhurst Hospital Center, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation

Shefali Oza, PhD
Epidemiologist, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Vlad Mixich
Health Policy Expert / Executive Director at the Romanian Health Observatory

Dr. Colin Hutchinson, FRCOphth
Chair, Doctors for the NHS

The EveryDoctor team, UK

Professor Christian Drosten
Director, Institute of Virology at Charité Hospital in Berlin
Scientific Director, Charité Global Health

Alberto Cano, MD
Medical Physicist

Wan-Ju Wu, MD
Physician, Boston Medical Center

Antonio Sitges-Serra
Surgeon and Writer

Prof. Dr. med. Jörg Ellinger
Senior Urologist, University Hospital Bonn

Naishadh D. Buch, PharmD, MBA, APhA
American College of Healthcare Executives, Clinical Pharmacist & Hospital Executive

Janneke Zinkstok, MD, PhD
Psychiatrist at University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

Subarna Shrestha, MD
Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Rajeev Fernando, MD
Infectious Diseases Specialist
First Responder, Queens NYC
Founder, CHIRAJ Global Charities

Ranj Singh, BSc, MBBS, MRCPCH
NHS, Emergency Paediatrician, TV Presenter

Jonathan Dworkin, MD
Infectious Diseases Doctor

Hadi Mourad, MD
Doctor of Medicine, Lebanese American University
Member at Lebanese Order of Physicians
Producer and Anchor of Na2Flix Show

Rony Brauman
Professor, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI), University of Manchester
Former President, Médecins sans Frontières

Noha Baz
Pediatrician
Member of the European Academy of Paediatrics
Founder of Les Petits Soleils

Arshia Wajid, MPH, MBA
Founder and Board Member, American Muslim Healthcare Professionals

Aurélien Beaucamp
President of AIDES, partner of the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS

Sarah Kureshi, MD, MPH
Family Medicine Physician and Assistant Professor at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital

Prof. Matteo Bassetti
Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the Policlinico San Martino in Genoa

Chefarzt Dr. rer. nat. Dr. med. Christopher Rommel
Direktor der Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik
Facharzt für Neurologie und Psychiatrie
Psychotherapie, Psychoanalyse
Johanniter-Krankenhaus Treuenbrietzen

Asma Raheem, MD
Envision Physician Services
Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia/Plantation General Hospital

Renato de Ávila Kfouri, Dr.
Director of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Natalia Pasternak Taschner
Research fellow at the Biomedical Institute, University of Sao Paulo,
President of Institute Question of Science

Instituto Questão de Ciência

Juarez Cunha
President of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Isabella Ballalai
Vice-President of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), member of WHO Vaccine Safety Network

Anirudh Kumar
Physician, NYU Langone Health

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Melanie M. Brinkmann
Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Genetics

Angelo Pan
Director OU Infectious Diseases
ASST Cremona
President SIMPIOS

Giovanni Maga
Direttore Istituto/ Dirigente Ricerca CNR
Istituto Genetica Molecolare CNR
Biologo molecolare, ricercatore

Andrea Crisanti
Professore, Medico
Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare UNIPD

David Duong, MD
Physician, Harvard Medical School

Prof. Edimilson R Migowski, PhD, MSc, MD, MBA
Diretor de Relações Externas (Coordinator of External Relations) at UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro Federal University)

Sally McDonald
Clinical Lead Nurse

Leen Delbaere
Oncology Nurse at Jan-Palfijn Hospital in Gent, Belgium

Tanguy Viaene
MD Pediatrics Resident at University Hospital Ghent, Belgium

Ritu Mahendru
Public health specialist

Ruvani W. Fonseka MPH, MSW
Public Health Researcher

Jonas Van Loocke
Professional Bachelor’s Degree
Nurse at Wit-Gele Kruis in Belgium

Liz-Ann Munro
Lamarre Independent Dental Hygiene Practitioner (IDHP)

Deborah Passey
Research Associate

Mary Crippen
Outreach Manager, Bronx Regional Health Information Organization

Emma Richards
N.D. (retired)

Fatima Lachporia
Registered Nurse (retired)

Ashmal Jameel, MBBS, BSc, FRCOPhth
Ophthalmology Trainee at St. Thomas Hospital

Felicity Edwards
Clinical Spinal Specialist, hospice end of life therapist

Hedie L. Epp
Family Practice Nurse Practitioner

Tatiana Kremenchugskaya
Surgical Assistant

Jillian Rausa
Public Health Practitioner

Michael Lyon
Hospital Biomedical Technician

Angy El-Khatib, MPH, CHES
Health & Wellness Coordinator

Shaddai Martinez Cuestas
Strategic Communications Specialist for Public Health Advocacy

Miguel Castro
Nurse

Shreya Mahajan
RN

Brenda Lane
Clinical Social Worker

Anneke de Boer
Registered Senior Nurse

Liz Kroboth, MPH
Program Manager

Patricia Dunne
Nurse

Katherine Schaff
Health Equity Coordinator

Tarik Khan, MSN, FNP-BC
Family Nurse Practitioner

Cintia Barbosa
Registered Nurse in Boston MA

Jabeen Siddiqui Hamzavi, MD

Wilson Borges
Doutor em Comunicação
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
Pesquisador

Juan Francisco Vázquez Costa, MD, PhD
Neurologist at Hospital la Fe

Laura de la Fuente, PhD
Research Assistant at ISGlobal

Flor Villalón, PhD
Hospital Universitario Donostia Paediatric surgeon

Vijay Jain, MD
Integrative physician at Mind body wellness center

Mansi Kotwal, MD
Pediatrician, Children’s National Hospital

David Katz, MD, MPH
President, True Health Initiative
Founding Director, Yale University’s Prevention Research Center

Amadea Heitmann, MD
Consultant Physician at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Dr. med. Eckart v. Hirschhausen
Arzt & Wissenschaftsjournalist, Scientists for Future, Stiftung Gesunde Erde – Gesunde Menschen

Dr. Dennis Ballwieser, General Manager
Apotheken Umschau/Wort & Bild Verlag in Munich, Germany

Carol Shoshkes Reiss, PhD
Professor

Tiphaine Joguet
Master Réhabilitation par les activités physiques Adaptées et santé
Centre hospitalier de Lodeve (FRANCE)
Enseignante en Activites Physiques Adaptées

Dr. med. Birgit Lampe, M.A.
Neurologist, Neurologie360Grad Cologne

Cord Benecke, Prof. Dr. Dipl-Psych
Professor für Klinische Psychologie, Leiter der Hochschulanu, Universität Kassel

Dr. med. Bernd Stechemesser
Chefarzt, Hernienzentrum Köln

David Fitch, PhD
Professor of Biology, New York University

Dr. med. Andrea Jobst
Kinderpneumologin, Praxis Dr Jobst

Paul Helman, MD
Internal Medicine, Northshore University Health system

Jakow Diener, MD
Medical Oncologist, Southern NH Med Cntr

Abe Levy, MD
Chief Medical Officer Emeritus, CareMount Medical

Stephan Greve, PT
Physiotherapist

Dr. med. Heinrich Neumann
Pathologe, MVZ Düren

Mitchell R. Lester, MD, AAP, ACAAI, AAAAI, ABAi
Physician

Arnold Schwartz, MD
Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, Orthopedic Spine Care of Long Island

Kara Fine, MD
Endocrinologist, Suburban Endocrinology

Kenneth Hardy Rabin, PhD
Senior Scholar, City University of New York, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Dr. rer. nat. Jens-Uwe Voss
Toxikologe

Dr. med. Andrea Erdmann
Psychiaterin, Oberärztin, Elisabeth Krankenhaus Gelsenkirchen GmbH

Dr. Jens-Chr. Schwindt
Neonatologist/CEO, SIMCharacters GmbH

Levi Jenkins, RRT
Respiratory Therapist

Steffi Wesiger
Facharztpraxis für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie & -psychotherapie
Praxismanagerin & Systemische Beraterin (DGsP)

Kelly Issokson, RD
Clinical Nutrition Coordinator, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Patricia Tollison, PhD
Psychologist

Sarah Temkin, MD
Gynecologic oncologist

Kevin Kuehlwein, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist

Carla Araújo
Doctor

Sérgio Sousa, RN
Public Health Nurse, ULSM

Margarida Leal, MD

Dr. med. Marcus Brabant
Arzt

David Silberhartz, MD
Psychiatrist

Luciana Amorim Duarte, RN
Registered Nurse

Prabodh Gupta, MD
Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Énio Amaral, RN
Nurse, Intensive Care Unit, Curry Cabral Hospital

Catarina Leal, MD
School Nurse, Australian International School

Lucio Meneses-de-Almeida, MD
Public Health Medicine Specialist
Administração Regional de Saúde do Centro (Regional Health Administration of Central Portugal)

Joao Nuno Rossa, MD
Family Practicioner, USF Cynthia – ACES Sintra

Ricardo Soares dos Reis, MD
Neurologist, CHUSJ

Alice Sato, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital/ UNMC
Hospital Epidemiology and Pediatric Infectious Disease
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Ärzte schlagen Alarm wegen Infodemie auf Social Media

Als Ärztinnen und Ärzte, Krankenpfleger/innen und Gesundheitsexpert/innen aus der ganzen Welt müssen wir jetzt Alarm schlagen. Es ist unsere Aufgabe, für die Sicherheit der Menschen zu sorgen. Wir haben es in diesem Moment allerdings nicht nur mit der COVID-19-Pandemie zu tun, sondern auch mit einer weltweiten “Infodemie”, bei der durch Fehlinformationen, die sich in den sozialen Medien viral verbreiten, auf der ganzen Welt Menschenleben gefährdet werden.

Berichte, in denen behauptet wird, dass Kokain ein Heilmittel sei oder dass COVID-19 von China oder den USA als biologische Waffe entwickelt wurde, haben sich schneller verbreitet als das Virus selbst. Technologieunternehmen versuchen zu reagieren, indem sie bestimmte Inhalte, wenn sie gemeldet werden, löschen und es der Weltgesundheitsorganisation gleichzeitig erlauben, kostenlose Anzeigen zu schalten.

Diese Anstrengungen sind aber bei weitem nicht genug.

Die Flutwelle an falschen und irreführenden Inhalten über das Coronavirus ist kein isolierter Ausbruch von Desinformation, sondern Teil eines globalen Problems. Auf Facebook haben wir Behauptungen beobachtet, dass Chlordioxid Menschen hilft, die an Autismus und Krebs leiden, dass Millionen von Amerikanern durch die Polio-Spritze ein „Krebsvirus“ verabreicht wurde oder dass ADHS von den großen Pharmakonzernen erfunden wurde usw.

Diese Lügen sind von Bedeutung, weil sie falsche Heilmittel anpreisen oder die Menschen von Impfungen und wirkungsvollen Behandlungen abbringen wollen. Und sie haben eine große Reichweite — ein Beitrag auf Facebook, laut dem Ingwer 10.000-mal effektiver bei der Krebsbekämpfung sein soll als eine Chemotherapie, wurde fast 30.000-mal geliked, geteilt und kommentiert.

Deswegen rufen wir heute die Technologieunternehmen dazu auf, sofort und systematisch aktiv zu werden, um die Flut an medizinischen Fehlinformationen sowie die dadurch ausgelöste Gesundheitskrise zu stoppen.

Durch unsere Arbeit in Krankenhäusern, Kliniken und Gesundheitsämtern auf der ganzen Welt kennen wir uns nur zu gut mit den tatsächlichen Auswirkungen dieser Infodemie aus. Wir sind diejenigen, die Kleinkinder mit Masern stationär behandeln – eine vollkommen vermeidbare Krankheit, die in Ländern wie den USA bereits als ausgerottet galt, jetzt aber vor allem dank Impfgegner-Propaganda wieder auflebt.

Als Angehörige der Gesundheitsberufe müssen wir uns nicht nur um die Folgen kümmern, sondern werden oft auch noch dafür verantwortlich gemacht. Fehlinformationen verschlechtern so die Moral eines ohnehin schon unter großem Druck stehenden Berufsstandes, während die finanziellen Kosten der Behandlung ohnehin übermäßig beanspruchte Budgets noch mehr belasten.

Die Diagnose sieht finster aus, was kann also getan werden?

Die sozialen Medien müssen mit zwei offensichtlichen und dringenden Schritten vorangehen.

Zunächst einmal müssen sie Richtigstellungen zu den Gesundheits-Fehlinformationen veröffentlichen. Das bedeutet, dass jede einzelne Person, die auf ihren Plattformen mit Gesundheits-Fehlinformationen in Berührung gekommen ist, gewarnt und benachrichtigt wird, und dass eine gut konzipierte und unabhängig überprüfte Korrektur angezeigt wird — etwas, das nachweislich dabei helfen kann, dass Benutzer nicht an gefährliche Lügen glauben. Während Plattformen wie Facebook bereits dazu übergegangen sind, auf Fakten geprüfte Fehlinformationen zu kennzeichnen, geht dieses Verfahren nicht weit genug, da Millionen von Menschen einen Beitrag sehen können, bevor er auf Fakten geprüft und gekennzeichnet wurde. Deshalb fordern wir Facebook dringend auf, ALLE Nutzer, die solchen Inhalten zum Opfer gefallen sind, zu warnen. Das bedeutet, einen Schritt weiterzugehen als die bloße Kennzeichnung, nämlich indem den Nutzern rückwirkend Richtigstellungen mitgeteilt werden.

Zweitens müssen die Plattformen ihre Algorithmen entgiften, die bestimmen, was den Benutzern angezeigt wird. Das bedeutet, dass gefährliche Lügen sowie diejenigen Seiten und Gruppen, die sie verbreiten, in den Benutzer-Feeds herab- und nicht heraufgestuft werden. Schädliche Fehlinformationen sowie Seiten und Kanäle, die “Wiederholungstätern” gehören, die diese Informationen verbreiten, sollten ebenfalls aus den inhaltsempfehlenden Algorithmen herausgenommen werden. Die Algorithmen konzentrieren sich derzeit mehr darauf, die Benutzer online zu halten, als ihre Gesundheit zu schützen. Und das führt zu einer Beeinträchtigung des gesellschaftlichen Wohlbefindens.

Technologieunternehmen, die sowohl die Verbreitung von Ideen erleichtern, als auch davon profitiert haben, befinden sich in einer unvergleichlichen Machtposition und sind dafür verantwortlich, der tödlichen Verbreitung von Fehlinformationen entgegenzuwirken, um zu verhindern, dass soziale Medien unsere Gesellschaft kränker machen. Um Leben zu retten und das Vertrauen in die wissenschaftlich fundierte Gesundheitsversorgung wiederherzustellen, müssen die Tech-Giganten aufhören, die Lügen, Verdrehungen und Fantasien, die uns alle bedrohen, weiter anzufachen.

Für Medienanfragen wenden Sie sich bitte an media@avaaz.org.

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