MAKE IT STOP!: RFK Jr and health agency falsely claim MMR vaccine includes 'aborted fetus debris'

[AStern]

Experts are alarmed as department says it will alter vaccine testing methods and build new ‘surveillance systems’

Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and his department have made a series of misleading statements that alarmed vaccine experts and advocates in recent days – including that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine includes “aborted fetus debris”.

Health department officials released statements saying they could alter vaccine testing and build new “surveillance systems” on Wednesday, both of which have unnerved experts who view new placebo testing as potentially unethical.

“It’s his goal to even further lessen trust in vaccines and make it onerous enough for manufacturers that they will abandon it,” said Dr Paul Offit, an expert on infectious disease and immunology and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about the statements and Kennedy. “It’s a fragile market.”

In this same week, Kennedy extolled parents to “do their own research” in a talk show interview – the phrase has become pop culture shorthand for a shallow internet search that casts people into the arms of the disinformation ecosystem.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/rfk-mmr-vaccines-fetus-claim

[Moostache]

1. Anyone who says they "did the research" is a self-identified moron.

Anyone who actually BELIEVES they are doing research and using Google or a search engine alone is a deluded moron.
That is all.

[sop]

3. "Do the research" is the 21st century version of "Hey, look it up."

In pre-internet days bullshitters would respond "Hey, look it up!" when asked to back up their lies. Now it's "Do the research."

[dickthegrouch]

4. But in those days, there was a lot less disinformation

We also used to be able to rely on Secretaries of Government departments to tell us the truth, not some half-baked, ridiculous excuse for one's own biases and brain worms.

There is a reason for the "Royal" "we". It separates the person from the role. If any of those stupid Secretaries, Directors, or Presidents ever use the first person ( "I" ), it is my belief that they can be prosecuted, probably under civil law, for any and all of the economic, psychological, and other harms they cause individuals while propagating their stupidity. Their office will not be responsible for those damages, since the person caused them, not the (currently undefined) "official act".

The framers of the cConstitution did not make any allowances for lack of integrity. That is the first thing that needs to be fixed when Dems regain power.
Lies, disinformation, misinformation, obfuscations, and 'roses' by any other name, need to have consequences. In campaigns, voter materials, stump speeches, anywhere any expectation of governance arises. It is not OK to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre. We clearly need other limits on free speech. It was never OK to lie to a Law Enforcement Officer either (whether or not under oath): free speech does not cover that.

I wonder if a LEO could prosecute, or sue for damages, due to certain candidates and/or office holders having lied to them.

[SheltieLover]

2. JFC get off ghe abortion bandwagon!