We know that anti-vaccine influencers will often misuse the results of a study to create propaganda, but of course, they have many other methods.
One of the most bold is simply making up fake quotes!
How Fake Quotes Become Anti-Vax Propaganda
We saw this technique in action when Aaron Siri tried to call out Dr. Stanley Plotkin for proposing a new way to fund postauthorization vaccine-safety studies.
“Although the ACIP acknowledges the need, there are currently no resources earmarked for postauthorization safety studies beyond annual appropriations, which must be approved by Congress each year.”
Funding Postauthorization Vaccine-Safety Science
The article is suggesting that we need even more money for postauthorization vaccine safety studies, beyond what is already given in annual appropriations by Congress.
So Aaron Siri decides to use this ‘quote’ in his article attacking them:
They just admitted vaccines are not properly studied—neither pre-licensure nor post-licensure. They admitted, for example, “prelicensure clinical trials have limited sample sizes [and] follow-up durations” and that “there are not resources earmarked for postauthorization safety studies.”
AND LIKE THAT, THE CLAIM VACCINES ARE THE WORLD’S BEST STUDIED PRODUCT DIES
Why does Aaron Siri change and shorten the quote, totally changes the meaning of what was said in the article? He implies that there is no money for postauthorization safety studies, something that is simply not true.
Why hasn’t Aaron Siri fixed this since yet?
His article was posted three weeks ago…
StopAntiVaxPropaganda
References:
Salmon DA, Orenstein WA, Plotkin SA, Chen RT. Funding Postauthorization Vaccine-Safety Science. N Engl J Med. 2024 Jul 11;391(2):102-105. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2402379. Epub 2024 Jul 6. PMID: 38973739.