AFLDS made its first public appearance during a media event on July 27, 2020, where they advocated for the use of repurposed drugs such as hydroxychloroquine as treatments for COVID-19. Their statements were made without the support of peer-reviewed evidence or regulatory approval, and the group also alleged that the pharmaceutical industry was intentionally sponsoring studies showing the drugs to be ineffective. Video of the event was distributed via right-wing websites and social media outlets, and also promoted by then-U.S. president Donald Trump and his son.[4][5][6]
Although it is described by its founders as a "grassroots" organization, America's Frontline Doctors has a connection to the Council for National Policy (CNP)—a conservative advocacy and networking group, and the Tea Party Patriots.[7]
In opposition to measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic such as business closures and lockdowns, the CNP formed a coalition in late-April 2020 known as "Save Our Country". The group's leadership included FreedomWorks' Adam Brandon, Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin, Stephen Moore, and Lisa Nelson of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In a press release announcing the coalition, Martin argued that "the long-term consequences of a prolonged societal shutdown outweigh the damage done by the virus itself."[7] As part of the coalition, FreedomWorks and the Tea Party Patriots promoted anti-lockdown protests.[7]
In May 2020, a conference call by the CNP's lobbying arm was leaked by the Center for Media and Democracy, which included CNP president William Walton, Mercedes Schlapp—a senior advisor for Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, and Nancy Schulze—wife of retired congressman Richard T. Schulze.[7] During the call, Schulze disclosed that a coalition of doctors was being created to pursue their push to "reopen" the economy; she argued that they had a high degree of trust, that the left had a tendency to "appreciate and listen to" science, and that "we have doctors that have the facts, that lived this themselves, that are in the trenches, that are saying it's time to reopen." Schlapp remarked that they were "the type of guys we want to get out on TV and radio to help push out the message."[7]
On May 19, 2020, the coalition—A Doctor a Day—published an open letter to President Trump with Simone Gold as lead signatory, which argued that lockdowns themselves were a "mass casualty incident", and that "it is impossible to overstate the short, medium, and long-term harm to people's health with a continued shutdown."[7] During a White House meeting on schools in early-July, Martin publicly called for schools to be reopened in the fall, and told Trump that she had "been in touch with almost a thousand doctors from around the country", and had "helped" Gold with the aforementioned open letter. A clip of her remarks went viral on conservative media outlets, often without any reference to Martin or her affiliations.[7]
In media appearances leading up to July 27, 2020 (including Whiskey Politics and The Charlie Kirk Show), Gold promoted various forms of COVID-19 misinformation, including claims surrounding the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a therapeutic, that there was no scientific basis for mandating face masks in public spaces, and that death certificates were being falsified by physicians to artificially increase the number of COVID-19-related deaths.[7]
White Coat Summit and other activities
On July 27, 2020, the Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded a press conference in Washington, D.C., in front of the Supreme Court Building, dubbed the "White Coat Summit",[8] which featured a group led by Gold that referred to themselves as "America's Frontline Doctors". The group claimed that a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax, and zinc could be used as a "cure" for COVID-19, and that public health measures such as lockdowns, social distancing, and mask mandates were therefore unnecessary. None of these drugs have been approved by the FDA or other regulators as therapeutics for COVID-19, and the claims were made without peer-reviewed evidence [4][5][9][10]
One of the speakers, Stella Immanuel, said that she herself had treated and cured 350 COVID-19 patients using the aforementioned cocktail, and referred to doctors refusing to use hydroxychloroquine as being like the "good Germans who allow the Nazis to kill the Jews."[4][5][9] They also accused "fake pharma companies" of sponsoring studies that found hydroxychloroquine to be ineffective against COVID-19.[11]
The event was live streamed by Breitbart News, and video of the event was shared on social media platforms, such as Facebook groups dedicated to anti-vaccination and conspiracy movements, and on Twitter—where Donald Trump (who had also promoted the drugs) and his son Donald Trump Jr. both shared versions of the video.[4][5][11] Citing policies against COVID-19 misinformation, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube began to delete posts of the video. It was estimated that posts of the video on Facebook had reached over 14 million views before the takedown.[4][11] Twitter restricted the account of Trump Jr. for 12 hours after he uploaded a version of the video to his account.[12]
When asked about the video, Trump referred to the group as being "very respected doctors", and referred to Immanuel as "spectacular". When asked why he trusted Immanuel despite her history of promoting conspiracies (such as alien DNA being used as part of medical treatments),[13] Trump replied, "I thought she was very impressive, in the sense that, from where she came — I don't know what country she comes from — but she said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients."[14] Following the event, Gold said that she had been fired from her position as an emergency room physician at two hospitals.[15]
After the 2021 United States Capitol attack in January 2021, Gold,[13][15][16] as well as AFLDS communications director Jason Strand, were both arrested for their participation in the insurrection,[15][17] with Gold later being sentenced to 60 days' imprisonment.[18]
Anti-vaccination activity
By January 2021, AFLDS had shifted to anti-vaccine activities and promoting misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.[19][20] The group has referred to the vaccines as "experimental biological agents",[21] falsely claimed they were "not effective in treating or preventing" COVID-19, and falsely contended that the vaccines were responsible for 45,000 deaths (a claim based on raw data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which relies on unverified, public submissions).[20][22][23] The group has opposed mandating or "forcing" the use of "experimental vaccines", and published a white paper with false claims surrounding the safety of the vaccines, which recommended the use of "early or prophylactic treatment" using "established medications".[19][20]
The organization has also targeted African Americans, citing the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as a justification for vaccine hesitancy among the population, and having collaborated with social media influencer Kevin Jenkins and author Angela Stanton-King. In September 2021, AFLDS filed a lawsuit against the New York City government, aiming to overturn its proof of vaccination mandate. The suit argued that the mandate was inherently discriminatory against African Americans due to the "historical context", and thus violated the city's human rights law.[26]
On December 8, 2021, President of the Medical Board of California Kristina Lawson published accusations that she had been stalked by a group of people who identified themselves as members of AFLDS, stating that they had spied on her and her children outside her home, followed her to work, and ambushed her in a parking garage "with cameras and recording equipment" as she was preparing to leave. When confronted by law enforcement, the group claimed that they were seeking an interview with Lawson. She stated that "the private investigator traveling with them told law enforcement they are producing a video about me that will include footage of my house and neighborhood, and, of course, me."[27][28]
SpeakWithAnMD
America's Frontline Doctors is affiliated with SpeakWithAnMD, a telehealth website run by conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.[19][29] It primarily distributes drugs that have been claimed by right-wing figures to be therapeutics for COVID-19.[30] When referred via the AFLDS website, the site charges US$90 for a doctor consultation with an "AFLDS-trained" physician, which is provided by Encore Telemedicine. Orders are then fulfilled via the online pharmacy Ravkoo, which is charged on top of the consulting fee and can vary.[19]
Hundreds of customers and donors accused the organization of charging fees for ivermectin prescriptions and consultations but failing to deliver, as well as referring customers to online pharmacies that charged excessive prices for the common anti-parasitic drug, which has also not been approved by the FDA or other regulators as a therapeutic for COVID-19.[19]
In September 2021, based on data leaked from an anonymous breach of Cadence Health and Ravkoo, The Intercept estimated that AFLDS and its partners had made $6.7 million in revenue from these consultations between July 16 and September 12, 2021.[21]
2022 lawsuit
On November 4, 2022, AFLDS filed a lawsuit against Gold, accusing her of misappropriation of funds to buy and rent property for herself, purchase vehicles for personal use, fund a housekeeper and a personal security detail, and other unspecified personal expenses.[31] The lawsuit also accused her of tortious interference, claiming that she was attempting to "take back control of AFLDS and restore herself into a leadership role with the organization".[32][33]
Organization
The group is registered in Arizona as the Free Speech Foundation; Time found that its charitable status in the state had been listed as "pending inactive", and that the group had never made any financial disclosures.[19][21]
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a politically conservative non-profit association that promotes conspiracy theories and medical misinformation, such as HIV/AIDS denialism, the abortion-breast cancer hypothesis, and vaccine and autism connections. The association was founded in 1943 to oppose a government attempt to nationalize health care. The group has included notable members, including American Republican politicians Ron Paul, Rand Paul and Tom Price.
The Tea Party Patriots is an American conservative political organization founded in 2009 as part of the Tea Party movement. It is known for organizing citizen opposition to the Affordable Care Act during the presidency of Barack Obama, and more recently for supporting President Donald Trump.
Sherri J. Tenpenny is an American anti-vaccination activist and conspiracy theorist who promulgates disproven hypotheses that vaccines cause autism. An osteopathic physician by training, she is the author of four books opposing vaccination. In 2023 the State Medical Board of Ohio indefinitely suspended Tenpenny's medical license for failure to participate in its investigations.
Scott M. Jensen is an American physician and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was a member of the Minnesota Senate from 2017 to 2021. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Minnesota in the 2022 election.
Del Matthew Bigtree is an American television and film producer who is the CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. He produced the film Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, based on the discredited opinions of Andrew Wakefield and alleges an unsubstantiated connection between vaccines and autism.
Stella Gwandiku-Ambe Immanuel is a Cameroonian-American physician and pastor. In mid-2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a video went viral on social media platforms in which Immanuel said hydroxychloroquine can cure COVID-19, and that public health measures such as social distancing and the wearing of face masks were ineffective and unnecessary. The platforms removed Immanuel's videos and posts, which they said promoted misinformation related to the pandemic.
Vladimir Zelenko was an American family physician. He was born in Kyiv. At the age of three, his family moved to the United States and settled in Brooklyn, New York City. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2000. He was an Orthodox Jew.
Simone Melissa Gold is an American doctor and anti-vaccine activist. She is the founder of America's Frontline Doctors, a right-wing political organization known for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. Before her arrest and guilty plea for participating in the 2021 United States Capitol attack, she had gained attention when a video of an America's Frontline Doctors press conference in front of the US Supreme Court Building went viral in July 2020. During the press conference, she touted the supposed benefits of hydroxychloroquine, despite evidence that it is ineffective as a COVID-19 treatment and can carry significant risks.
Pierre Kory is an American critical care physician who gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for advocating widespread off-label use of certain drugs as treatments for COVID-19, as president and co-founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). Kory testified twice to the U.S. Senate regarding COVID-19. During his testimony in December 2020, Kory erroneously claimed that the antiparasitic medication ivermectin was a "wonder drug" with "miraculous effectiveness" against COVID-19.
Peter Andrew McCullough is an American cardiologist. He was vice chief of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center and a professor at Texas A&M University. During the COVID-19 pandemic, McCullough has promoted misinformation about COVID-19, its treatments, and mRNA vaccines.
Robert Wallace Malone is an American physician and biochemist. His early work focused on mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and drug repurposing research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malone promoted misinformation about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States is the sociocultural phenomenon of individuals refusing or displaying hesitance towards receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States can be considered as part of the broader history of vaccine hesitancy.
The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) is a group of physicians and former journalists formed in April 2020 that has advocated for various unapproved, dubious, and ineffective treatments for COVID-19. The group is led by Paul E. Marik and Pierre Kory. Both would later join conservative or right-wing groups promoting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
The World Doctors Alliance is a pseudo-medical organization of anti-vaccine activists, COVID-19 denialists and conspiracy theorists which was established in May 2020 by Mohammad Iqbal Adil.
Anti-vaccination activists and other people in many countries have spread a variety of unfounded conspiracy theories and other misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines based on misunderstood or misrepresented science, religion, and law. These have included exaggerated claims about side effects, misrepresentations about how the immune system works and when and how COVID-19 vaccines are made, a story about COVID-19 being spread by 5G, and other false or distorted information. This misinformation has proliferated and may have made many people averse to vaccination. This has led to governments and private organizations around the world introducing measures to incentivize or coerce vaccination, such as lotteries, mandates, and free entry to events, which has in turn led to further misinformation about the legality and effect of these measures themselves.
John Lorimer Campbell is an English YouTuber and retired nurse educator known for his videos about the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the videos received praise, but they later veered into misinformation. He has been criticised for suggesting COVID-19 deaths have been over-counted, repeating false claims about the use of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment, and providing misleading commentary about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. As of June 2023, his YouTube channel had 2.8 million subscribers and over 653 million views.
Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic includes reporting on the deaths of anti-vaccine advocates from COVID-19 as a phenomenon occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media also reported on various websites documenting such deaths, with some outlets questioning whether this practice was overly unsympathetic. Reports noted phenomena including "deathbed conversions", in which vaccine opponents reportedly changed their minds and began encouraging vaccination before dying, with these claims meeting continued skepticism by vaccination opponents; and on groups of deaths within specific demographics, such as anti-vaccine radio hosts.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that is well established for use in animals and people. The World Health Organization (WHO), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) all advise against using ivermectin in an attempt to treat or prevent COVID-19.
This timeline includes entries on the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This includes investigations into the origin of COVID-19, and the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 which is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Social media apps and platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, and YouTube, have contributed to the spread of misinformation. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) reported that conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 began on "day one". CAHN reported on March 16, 2020, that far-right groups in Canada were taking advantage of the climate of anxiety and fear surrounding COVID, to recycle variations of conspiracies from the 1990s, that people had shared over shortwave radio. COVID-19 disinformation is intentional and seeks to create uncertainty and confusion. But most of the misinformation is shared online unintentionally by enthusiastic participants who are politically active.
The World Council for Health is a pseudo-medical organisation dedicated to spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and promoting fake COVID-19 treatments.
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