Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails

by Sharyl Attkisson

Let me pause to state something that should be obvious. It’s not “anti-vaccine” to ask questions, research, or report about vaccine safety. In all my years of investigating topics, this one stands alone in terms of the magnitude of orchestrated pushback it draws. When I broke international news about deadly rollovers of Ford Explorers outfitted with Firestone tires, nobody suggested I was “anti-car” or “anti-tire.” That would be absurd. When I uncovered fraud at the Red Cross involving 9/11 donations, nobody suggested I was “anti–Red Cross,” “anti-charity,” or “anti–9/11 donations.” When I investigated other drug safety issues, nobody considered me to be “anti-medicine.” If I were to talk about studies showing that some people are allergic to penicillin, it wouldn’t make me “anti-penicillin.” Ask yourself why the game changes when it comes to vaccines. The fact that people feel compelled to say, “I’m not anti-vaccine . . .” before making perfectly grounded statements or asking rational questions speaks to the success of one of the most influential propaganda movements of our time.