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Evolution / Holocaust / HIV Deniers |
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All the same breed of crank! |
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'HIV denial' is costing lives
27 August 2007
NewScientist.com
AIDS is caused by HIV; it's a fact established beyond any
reasonable doubt. Yet many beg to differ, blaming it instead on social
causes, from poverty to promiscuity. South African president Thabo Mbeki is
perhaps the most famous HIV denialist, with tragic consequences for his
country's fight against AIDS. HIV denial is also flourishing worldwide on
the internet and it is costing lives.
According to a new analysis, HIV denial is
remarkably similar to other anti-scientific ideologies such as creationism,
anti-vaccine movements and even Holocaust denial (PLoS
Medicine, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256).
For example, HIV denialists claim that the idea that HIV causes AIDS is
backed by an orthodoxy, or conspiracy, that makes money selling HIV drugs;
that science is based on faith, rather than evidence, and that their ideas
are on the verge of acceptance. They point to gaps in the science,
back-pedalling as those gaps fill up. The study calls for scientists to
fight back.
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