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HIV Denial in the Internet Era Tara C Policy Forum HIV Denial in the Internet Era Tara C. Smith*, Steven P. Novella t may seem remarkable that, 23 to many other forms of popular denial, years after the identifi cation of including denial of evolution, mental Ithe human immunodefi ciency illness, and the Holocaust. virus (HIV), there is still denial that the virus is the cause of acquired Three Prominent Deniers and immune defi ciency syndrome (AIDS). Denial Groups This denial was highlighted on an One of the prominent HIV denial international level in 2000, when groups currently is Christine South African president Thabo Mbeki Maggiore’s “Alive and Well” (formerly convened a group of panelists to discuss “HEAL,” Health Education AIDS the cause of AIDS, acknowledging that Liaison) (http:⁄⁄www.aliveandwell. he remained unconvinced that HIV was org/). Maggiore’s life story is at the the cause [1]. His ideas were derived at center of this group. Diagnosed with least partly from material he found on doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256.g001 HIV in 1992, Maggiore claims she has the Internet [2]. Though Mbeki agreed since been symptom-free for the past 14 later that year to step back from the Example of a typical slogan from an HIV years without the use of antiretroviral debate [3], he subsequently suggested denialist group drugs, including protease inhibitors a re-analysis of health spending with a [10]. She has risen to prominence, decreased emphasis on HIV/AIDS [4]. and been embroiled in controversy, HIV denial has taken root in the that HIV does not cause AIDS at in recent years after giving birth to general population and has shown its concerts [6], and it lists the HIV denial and openly breast-feeding her two potential to frustrate public education group “Alive and Well” as a worthy children, Charles and Eliza Jane. She efforts and adversely affect public cause on its Web site (http:⁄⁄www. had neither child tested for HIV, and funding for AIDS research and foofi ghters.com/community_cause. did not take antiretroviral medication prevention programs. For example, html). during her pregnancy or subsequent the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power As these challenges to mainstream breast-feeding [11]. Eliza Jane died (ACT UP) was for many years on the theories have largely occurred outside in September 2005 of HIV-related front lines of AIDS education and of the scientifi c literature, many pneumonia [12], though Maggiore activism. But now a San Francisco physicians and researchers have had remains unconvinced that HIV had any chapter of the group has joined the the luxury of ignoring them as fringe role in her daughter’s death [13], and denialist movement, stating on its Web beliefs and therefore inconsequential. continues to preach her message to site that “HIV does not cause AIDS… Indeed, the Internet has served as a other HIV-positive mothers. HIV antibody tests are fl awed and fertile and un-refereed medium to Peter Duesberg initiated the HIV dangerous…AIDS drugs are poison” spread these denialist beliefs. The denial movement with a 1987 article (http:⁄⁄www.actupsf.com/aids/index. Group for the Scientifi c Reappraisal htm). In 2000 the chapter wrote letters of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis Funding: TCS received research start-up funding to every member of Congress asking (“Reappraising AIDS”) noted, “Thanks from the University of Iowa, but received no specifi c them to stop funding research into HIV to the ascendance of the internet, funding for this article. [5]. ACT UP San Francisco’s position we are now able to reinvigorate Competing Interests: The authors have declared has been condemned by other ACT UP our informational campaign” [7]. that no competing interests exist. chapters, such as ACT UP Philadelphia The Internet is an effective tool for Citation: Smith TC, Novella SP (2007) HIV denial in and ACT UP East Bay (http:⁄⁄www. targeting young people, and for the Internet era. PLoS Med 4(8): e256. doi:10.1371/ actupny.org/indexfolder/actupgg. spreading misinformation within a journal.pmed.0040256 html). Rock stars have weighed in on group at high risk for HIV infection. Copyright: © 2007 Smith and Novella. This is an the topic. Members of the group “The Two excellent online fact sheets open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, Foo Fighters” provided music for a have been prepared to counter many which permits unrestricted use, distribution, soundtrack of the recent documentary, of the most commonly used arguments and reproduction in any medium, provided the “The Other Side of AIDS” (http:⁄⁄www. to deny HIV causation of AIDS [8,9]; original author and source are credited. theothersideofaids.com/), which as such, we will not discuss these in Tara C. Smith is with the Department of questions whether HIV is the cause of this article. Instead, we will review Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public AIDS. The band has spread its message Health, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America. the current intellectual strategies Steven P. Novella is with the Department of used by the HIV denial movement. Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New The Policy Forum allows health policy makers around Although other forms of science denial Haven, Connecticut, United States of America. the world to discuss challenges and opportunities for improving health care in their societies. will not be specifi cally discussed, the * To whom correspondence should be addressed. characteristics described below apply E-mail: [email protected] PLoS Medicine | www.plosmedicine.org 1312 August 2007 | Volume 4 | Issue 8 | e256 suggesting that HIV does not cause AIDS, adverse reactions to vaccines and They argue that when mainstream AIDS [14]. While he is no longer on medications, exposure to chemicals in scientists speak out against the scientifi c the front lines of this movement, the the home, environment or workplace” “orthodoxy,” they are persecuted and arguments put forth by others trace (http:⁄⁄www.toxi-health.com/). dismissed. For example, HIV deniers back to his publications. Similarly, German vitamin supplier make much of the demise of Peter Celia Farber is a journalist who has and HIV denier Matthias Rath not only Duesberg’s career, claiming that when spent much of her career covering HIV. pushed his vitamins as a treatment for he began speaking out against HIV as Farber is the author of a recent Harper’s AIDS [19], but his spokesman refused the cause of AIDS, he was “ignored and article repeating Duesberg’s claims that to be interviewed by Nature Medicine discredited” because of his dissidence HIV does not cause AIDS [15], and about the case because he claimed the [23]. South African President Mbeki has recently authored a book on “the journal is “funded to the hilt with drug went even further, stating: “In an shadowy story of AIDS science” [16]. money” [20]. earlier period in human history, these There are serious inconsistencies Deniers argue that because scientists [dissidents] would be heretics that within the broad HIV denial receive grant money, fame, and would be burnt at the stake!” [1]. movement, and the individuals prestige as a result of their research, it HIV deniers accuse scientists of mentioned above are only the tip of is in their best interest to maintain the quashing dissent regarding the cause the iceberg. HIV denial groups diverge status quo [15]. This type of thinking is of AIDS, and not allowing so-called even on the most basic tenet: does HIV convenient for deniers as it allows them “alternative” theories to be heard. exist at all? Nevertheless, disagreements to choose which authorities to believe However, this claim could be applied within the movement are overlooked and which ones to dismiss as part of a to any well-established scientifi c for the sake of presenting a unifi ed grand conspiracy. In addition to being theory that is being challenged by front. selective, their logic is also internally politically motivated pseudoscientifi c inconsistent. For example, they dismiss notions—for example, creationist Conspiracy Theories and Selective studies that support the HIV hypothesis challenges to evolution. Further, Distrust of Scientifi c Authority as being biased by “drug money,” while as HIV denial can plausibly reduce That HIV is the primary cause of they accept uncritically the testimony of compliance with safe sex practices and AIDS is the strongly held consensus HIV deniers who have a heavy fi nancial anti-HIV drugs, potentially costing opinion of the scientifi c community, stake in their alternative treatment lives, this motivates the scientifi c and based upon over two decades of robust modalities. health care communities to exclude research. Deniers must therefore HIV denial from any public forum. (As reject this consensus, either by Portraying Science as Faith and one editorial has bluntly phrased it, denigrating the notion of scientifi c Consensus as Dogma HIV denial is “deadly quackery”) [24]. authority in general, or by arguing Since the ideas proposed by deniers do Because HIV denial is not scientifi cally that the mainstream HIV community not meet rigorous scientifi c standards, legitimate, such exclusion is justifi ed, is intellectually compromised. It is they cannot hope to compete against but it further fuels the deniers’ claims therefore not surprising that much of the mainstream theories. They of oppression. the newer denial literature refl ects a cannot raise the level of their beliefs basic distrust of authority and of the up to the standards of mainstream Expert Opinion and the Promise of institutions of science and medicine. science; therefore they attempt to Forthcoming Scientifi c Acceptance In her book, Christine Maggiore lower the status of the denied science Although the HIV deniers condemn thanks her father Robert, “who taught down to the level of religious faith, scientifi c authority and consensus, they me to question authority and stand characterizing scientifi c consensus have nevertheless worked to assemble up for what’s right” [10].
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