[p2p-research] shots in the dark/p2p article

[Tomas Rawlings]

Hi - before I start I need to state I don't know a lot about the vaccine 
controversy.  However the article posted on the p2p looks a little like 
denialism - while I don't know enough about the vaccine controversy, I 
have been involved in long-running attempts to combat creationism and 
global warming denialism.  Here's a few examples of what I mean:
- Claims of wikipedia bias - you also find this constantly with 
creationism and global warming denialism.  In my experience there is 
often a narrative that when an argument goes against one side there is a 
temptation to blame the moderators of the platform rather then 
re-examine the argument itself.  That is not to say it does not happen, 
just to say that such claims need to be backed with evidence.  For 
example the wikipedia page on the foundation linked in the p2p article 
is also in dispute - for the opposite reasons; 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:National_Vaccine_Information_Center
- Links to 'institutes' with grand sounding names - National Vaccine 
Information Center - sounds like an official body but it is not - it is 
a campaign group - nothing wrong with that except if  they are a 
campaign, they should be honest about it.  Again you find this all the 
time in global warming and creationism, e.g. Biologic Institute - sounds 
official but is a front campaign group for Intelligent Design.
- For example the article suggests that the mainstream view is 
incorrect, fine, then posts links to the debate, but the p2p article 
only posts links to one side and so looks less like an analysis of this 
issue and how it has gone viral and more like a propaganda article on 
this issue - which I am uncomfortable with.  My concenrn for things like 
this is they bleed into to well documented denialism, of which one of 
the most potent exposes I have read of late is Gen Goldacre on AIDS 
denialism... 
http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2009/06/start/the-man-who-sold-out-medicine.aspx

Thanks

-- 
Tomas

-----------------------
Tomas Rawlings
Development Director, FluffyLogic Development Ltd.
web: www.fluffylogic.net
tel: 0117 9442233 
-
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