Erin Elizabeth

Last updated

Erin Elizabeth
Erin Elizabeth Selfie.jpg
Erin Elizabeth
Born
Erin Elizabeth Finn

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Alternative health advocate, anti-vaccinationist, blogger
Partner Joseph Mercola

Erin Elizabeth Finn, known as Erin Elizabeth, is an American alternative health advocate who blogs under the name Health Nut News. She is known for propagating conspiracy theories relating to healthcare topics, like COVID-19 and vaccines. She and her partner Joseph Mercola have been called two of the "disinformation dozen" responsible for 65% of Covid-19 anti-vaccine misinformation on the internet and social media, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) in 2021. [1]

Contents

Career

Finn runs a website called Health Nut News. [2] [3]

By February 2019, Pinterest had banned links to Health Nut News for their promotion of false and dangerous health information. [4]

On May 13, 2021, Facebook banned her personal and professional accounts as well as her 16 groups, for (according to an off-the-record source): "spammy and inauthentic behavior they relied on to build their audience. They misled people about the popularity of their posts and used fake accounts to spam people and evade our enforcement". [2] YouTube removed her account in September 2021 for breaking its COVID-19 misinformation policies. [5]

Finn has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. [2] [6] She receives affiliate marketing income for promoting disinformation videos. [2]

Personal life

Elizabeth is professionally associated with and the romantic partner of Joseph Mercola, who has been described as "a major funder of the anti-vax movement who has made millions from selling alternative health supplements online." [2] [7] She is based in Ormond Beach, Florida. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded under the name Dissatisfied Parents Together (DPT) in 1982, is an American 501(c)(3) organization that has been widely criticized as a leading source of fearmongering and misinformation about vaccines. While NVIC describes itself as the "oldest and largest consumer-led organization advocating for the institution of vaccine safety and informed consent protections", it promotes false and misleading information including the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism, and its campaigns portray vaccination as risky, encouraging people to consider "alternatives." In April 2020, the organization was identified as one of the greatest disseminators of COVID-19 misinformation on Facebook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Mercola</span> American alternative medicine proponent and purveyor of anti-vaccination misinformation

Joseph Michael Mercola is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets largely unproven dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues advocate unproven and pseudoscientific alternative health notions including homeopathy and opposition to vaccination. These positions have received persistent criticism. Mercola is a member of several alternative medicine organizations as well as the political advocacy group Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which promotes scientifically discredited views about medicine and disease. He is the author of two books.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), formerly Brixton Endeavors, is a British not-for-profit NGO company with offices in London and Washington, D.C. with the stated purpose of stopping the spread of online hate speech and disinformation. It campaigns to deplatform people that it believes promote hate or misinformation, and campaigns to restrict media organisations such as The Daily Wire from advertising. CCDH is a member of the Stop Hate For Profit coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherri Tenpenny</span> Anti-vaccination activist

Sherri J. Tenpenny is an American physician activist who promotes unbiased fully informed consent for vaccinations, clinical drug trials, and emergency use authorized drugs and devices. She is a proponent for full public disclosure of all government agency collected public health statistics and medical research findings that are funded by taxpayers including government agency grants. She promulgates hypotheses that vaccines cause autism. An osteopathic physician by training, she has practiced as an Emergency Room physician, Family Physician, and Allergist. She is the author of four books taking non-traditional positions on vaccination.

<i>LifeSiteNews</i> Far-right, anti-abortion advocacy and news publication

LifeSiteNews is a Canadian Catholic conservative anti-abortion advocacy website and news publication. LifeSiteNews has published misleading information and conspiracy theories, and in 2021, was banned from some social media platforms for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

Children's Health Defense (CHD) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit activist group mainly known for anti-vaccine disinformation, and which has been called one of the main sources of misinformation on vaccines. Founded under the name World Mercury Project in 2007, it is chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The group has been campaigning against various public health programs, such as vaccination and fluoridation of drinking water. The group has been contributing to vaccine hesitancy in the United States, encouraging citizens and legislators to support anti-vaccine regulations and legislation. Arguments against vaccination are contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. Its $15-million budget is funded through donations from individuals and affiliate marketing revenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Bigtree</span> American television producer and anti-vaccination activist

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.

The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) is one of the main anti-vaccination groups in the United States. Founded in 2016 by Del Bigtree, it spreads misinformation about the risks of vaccines and contributes to vaccine hesitancy, which has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019. Arguments against vaccination are contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

The Stop Mandatory Vaccination website and associated Facebook group are some of the major hubs of the American anti-vaccination movement. It was established by anti-vaccination activist Larry Cook in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Brogan</span> American psychiatrist and alternative medicine practitioner

Kelly Brogan is an American author of books on alternative medicine who has promoted conspiracy theories and misinformation about discredited medical hypotheses.

Plandemic is a trilogy of conspiracy theory films produced by Mikki Willis promoting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. They feature Judy Mikovits, a discredited American researcher and prominent anti-vaccine activist. The first video, Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19, was released on May 4, 2020, under Willis' production company Elevate Films. The second film, Plandemic Indoctornation, which includes more interviewees, was released on August 18 by Brian Rose's distributor of conspiracy theory related films, London Real. Later on June 3, 2023, Plandemic 3: The Great Awakening was released on The Highwire, a website devoted to conspiracy theories run by anti-vaccine activist Del Bigtree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Shemirani</span> British conspiracy theorist

Kay Allison "Kate" Shemirani is a British conspiracy theorist, anti-vaccine activist and former nurse who lost her licence to practise in 2020 for misconduct. She is best known for promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19, vaccinations and 5G technology. Shemirani has been described by The Jewish Chronicle as a leading figure of a movement that includes conspiracy theorists as well as far-left and far-right activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ty Bollinger</span> American alternative medicine advocate

Ty Bollinger is an American misinformation marketer and conspiracy theorist who promotes alternative medicine treatments for cancer and vaccine-preventable diseases. Bollinger has no medical training and has a history of disseminating misinformation about cancer treatments, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, promoting ineffective or unproven cures, and other conspiracy theories on social media platforms. With his wife Charlene, he runs the website The Truth About Cancer and its associated social media accounts, where they sell books, videos, and nutritional supplements based on these ideas.

Claire Ann Deeks is a New Zealand anti-vaccine activist who has challenged the government's response to COVID-19. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Advance NZ party in the 2020 general election, and set up the group Voices for Freedom (VFF), which distributed pamphlets that have been criticised by experts as containing COVID-19 misinformation about vaccines, lockdown and the wearing of masks. As a food blogger, Deeks promoted the paleo diet and "healthy" lunchboxes for children, and developed a petition to stop the rating system for foods used by the NZ and Australian governments. She is a former intellectual property lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sayer Ji</span> Alternative medicine advocate and COVID misinformation promoter (born 1972)

Douglas Sayer Ji is the founder of alternative medicine portal GreenMedInfo, a website known for promoting various pseudoscientific publications. He was identified in 2020 as one of the largest promoters of COVID-19 misinformation on social media.

Ronnie Steven "Rizza" Islam is an American member of the Nation of Islam and a member of its paramilitary wing the Fruit of Islam. According to the Anti-Defamation League, he is a social media influencer with over 500,000 followers across several platforms, posting antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-vaccine rhetoric, and promoting a range of conspiracy theories".

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 Light is a self-published, monthly British far-right and conspiracy theory newspaper founded by Darren Nesbitt on 27 September 2020, which claims the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax. The paper has a sister publication, named The Irish Light, which was launched in Ireland by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voices for Freedom</span> Anti-vaccination group in New Zealand

TJB 2021 Limited, trading as Voices for Freedom (VFF), is an anti-vaccine advocacy group in New Zealand that formed in December 2020 to oppose the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 mitigation policies and vaccination rollout. The organisation is founded and led by food blogger and former Advance New Zealand candidate Claire Deeks, Libby Jonson and Alia Bland. Voices for Freedom has been criticised by NZ Skeptics, The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman, and "FACT Aotearoa" for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccinations.

OpenVAERS is an American anti-vaccine website created in 2021 by Liz Willner. The website represents data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to promote information about COVID-19 vaccines.

References

  1. Salam, Erum (July 17, 2021). "Majority of Covid misinformation came from 12 people, report finds". The Guardian. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gilbert, David (May 14, 2021). "Facebook Is Finally Doing Something About the Biggest Spreaders of Anti-Vax Lies". Vice. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  3. Health Nut News: About Health Nut News
  4. Wong, Julia (February 28, 2019). "Anti-vaxx 'mobs': doctors face harassment campaigns on Facebook". The Guardian . Erin Elizabeth runs the website Health Nut News, links to which have been banned by Pinterest for consistently promoting harmful health misinformation.
  5. Alba, Davey (September 29, 2021). "YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation". The New York Times. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  6. Frot, Mathilde (April 29, 2021). "Leading anti-vaxx influencers promote Jew-hate to hundreds of thousands". The Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  7. Whyte, Liz (June 21, 2021). "Spreading vaccine fears. And cashing in. - Meet the influencers making millions by dealing doubt about the coronavirus vaccines". Montana Free Press . The vaccine-skeptical corners of the internet promote the same names again and again: the Bollingers; Dr. Joseph Mercola, who runs a supplement empire while dispatching near-daily anti-vaccine missives; Erin Elizabeth Finn, Mercola's "better half", who markets her own line of extracts and serums while airing vaccine doubts on her Health Nut News platforms;
  8. Health Nut News, Contact Us
  9. "Erin Elizabeth Finn". propublica.org. July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2021.