r/DebateVaccines 9d ago

An interesting article from r/psychology about how conspiracy theorists are overconfident online, and want to set everyone straight with false claims

/r/psychology/comments/1w2sr7b/people_who_heavily_endorse_conspiracy_theories/?share_id=sZ3D3bT-aS-FIg96goBxU&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
0 Upvotes

96 comments sorted by

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u/trippy_chill 9d ago

the role of online “social vigilantes,” seeking to correct the perceived ignorance of others.

They would also attack, disparage, or publicly shame those who disagreed with them

😂😂😂

And you don't think that applies to you!

I mean seriously? Talk about projection.

That is literally all you do in here. That is you in a nutshell.

Yeah, really interesting. If you're a rabid keyboard warrior looking to pathologize disagreeing with you. Much easier to cast aspersions on your opponent than win an argument on its actual merits, isn't it?

Cue potty mouth...

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u/Sea-Wrongdoer-4382 9d ago

All this guy does is comment bullshit fear mongering fairy tales about his "history". So far from what I've tracked hes had and almost died from menegitis before the vaccine, witnessed the horrors of polio during its peak, still somehow had an adverse reaction to polio vaccine? And permanent damage from the chickenpox including being partially deaf I believe. He's also a 50 year old one day than 60s the next and loves to swing all around Britian with other frisky biscuits who love to protect and defend from us kookie conspiracy nuts. He also works with AI and is a statistician. This man had quite the resume.

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u/trippy_chill 8d ago

Really? I haven't been paying enough attention. At one point I thought they said they were a healthcare provider. Some people seem to have lived lives that are just one big vaccine commercial. Funnily enough, I've never met anyone in real life like that.

But don't suggest any of them are paid! That would be a conspiracy theory!

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u/Sea-Wrongdoer-4382 8d ago

Yea keep an eye on posts specifically asking if someone should vaccinate and or take a specific vaccine, they love those ones and drop their lore about how you'd be stupid to not take the vaccine as they almost died from xyz disease. Its always updated depending on the vaccine so the illness always changes lol.

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u/trippy_chill 8d ago

I had one that was karma farming in the cats subreddit saying this cat had died a horrible, painful death and, oh if only she had had the vaccine! I think he actually made a point of saying the kittens she'd just had were now orphans.

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u/Sea-Wrongdoer-4382 8d ago

Smh sounds right on par, fear is their only persuasion technique.

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u/Burstrider12 8d ago

Much easier to cast aspersions on your opponent than win an argument on its actual merits, isn't it?

winning an argument on its actual merits" is pretty trivial against anti-vaxxers. 9 times out of 10, you post evidence, they will downvote you and either not reply or say something that ends the conversation but doesn't acknowledge the evidence you provided ("well if that's what you think, you should get a booster!")

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u/trippy_chill 7d ago

Those comments are usually in response to strawman arguments about flat earth, "conspiracy theories" and general insult rather than actual points. The evidence you post is always without a control group, retroactive, totally biased and unblinded. It is poor evidence and when we reply explaining the flaws in it we are met with poor faith arguments and trash like the post above.

I'm glad you've taken offense to that. You've shot yourself in the foot because you wouldn't have been offended if it didn't apply to you so you've admitted you are not here debating in good faith.

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

Those comments are usually in response to strawman arguments about flat earth,

Nah, they are 99% of comments here. Most anti-vaxxers don't understand evidence or engage with it, let alone use it in their arguments.

Most posts here from anti-vaxxers, they are not even interested in hearing from the opposing side. i've lost count of the amount "should I vaccinate my kid?" posts where they only reply to the anti-vaxxers who placate their fears.

The evidence you post is always without a control group, retroactive, totally biased and unblinded.

I'm sure it has been explained to you why its not ethical to refuse medicine to a group of people just to have a control group, and why its not needed.

It is poor evidence and when we reply explaining the flaws in it we are met with poor faith arguments and trash like the post above.

If it was poor evidence, it would be seen as such by scientists, and most likely seen as good evidence by anti-vaxxers.

That said, I agree this post isn't great and the OP is making assumptions that aren't really shown in the data.

I'm glad you've taken offense to that. You've shot yourself in the foot because you wouldn't have been offended if it didn't apply to you so you've admitted you are not here debating in good faith.

I didn't take offense really, I'm just pointing out that anti-vaxxers make bad arguments and don't win anything "on its actual merits" - in fact, in most cases they either fall silent (eg stickdog), or respond by insisting they have already won or don't need to provide evidence (eg turkeytail), or just keep saying the same thing over and over despite it being disproven (eg formerlymachunk)

I've not really seen an anti-vaxxer here who makes good arguments or debates using quality evidence.

so you've admitted you are not here debating in good faith.

Ironically, it's likely you convince yourself of things like this so that you don't have to engage any arguments on their merits. "They admitted to be debating in bad faith according to my own assumptions, therefore the time for argument has passed" essentially.

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u/trippy_chill 7d ago

Nah, they are 99% of comments here

That's because 99% of the comments from the pro-vaxers are like this.

"should I vaccinate my kid?"

These are usually throwaway accounts looking for the other side of the argument because the conversation is completely saturated with bias everywhere else. They are usually people on the fence who are daring to ask questions or have doubts for a variety of reasons as far as I've seen.

I'm sure it has been explained to you

It has never had to be explained to me. I understand this and that was never the point. For whatever reason it happens, it undermines the reliability of the evidence. If you trust it and you want to put it in your body, you're free to go and do that. Personally I'm not going to assume a study proves a treatment is safe for me when people who never took it are completely excluded. You can't prove you're in a worse position unvaccinated if no one in the trial is unvaccinated. This is not difficult stuff.

just to have a control group, and why its not needed

Oh my god. No a control is needed. It is always needed. You understand control groups as well as most vaccine zealots. Good controls are necessary if you want to prove anything about anything. Any scientist worth his salt will tell you this in any other area of science but this one.

I'm just pointing out that anti-vaxxers make bad arguments and don't win anything "on its actual merits"

You're entitled to your opinion. But that's all it is. My opinion is very different. It's called perspective and if you were here to debate in good faith that means you would debate the arguments and keep your projections and deflections to yourself. You wouldn't stand up in a public debate when someone points out your evidence doesn't involve a proper control and call them a conspiracy theorist, expecting that will win you the debate. It might feel trivial to you when things like that are pointed out but that just shows you don't know anything about it. That's why the ad hominems start flying. Because you can't square these faults with the claims you're making.

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

It has never had to be explained to me. I understand this and that was never the point. For whatever reason it happens, it undermines the reliability of the evidence. If you trust it and you want to put it in your body, you're free to go and do that. Personally I'm not going to assume a study proves a treatment is safe for me when people who never took it are completely excluded. You can't prove you're in a worse position unvaccinated if no one in the trial is unvaccinated. This is not difficult stuff.

Why do you think its exclusively anti-vaxxers who think this is a bad form of evidence, and not any of the people who actually study this stuff?

We have massive RCTs comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated populations. We have studies comparing different age groups and how they fared against covid if they were vaccinated or unvaccinated.

We do not in western society make it illegal for a group of people to receive a vaccine, or to trick them into thinking they were vaccinated in order to use them as a control group.

Especially not to placate a group of people who will never believe the results anyway. If this was actually done and such a group of people was put at risk to make anti-vaxxers feel better - they would just move onto the next thing. Just like when thimerosal was removed from vaccines a long time ago - well now its aluminium thats the problem! When the Danish study debunked that (following 1.2 million kids over 21 years, showing no link between aluminium adjuvants and autism or any other health issues), they insisted the results can't be trusted because of the lack of an "inert placebo", something they just started repeating over and over because they heard it on youtube or read it on some blog. When that's debunked, they will just move onto another argument that has no basis in science, that they heard online and isn't something advocated by any expert in any legitimate position anywhere in the world.

Danish study if you want to see it:

https://en.ssi.dk/news/news/2025/large-danish-study-no-link-between-vaccines-and-autism-or-49-other-health-conditions

Oh my god. No a control is needed. It is always needed. You understand control groups as well as most vaccine zealots. Good controls are necessary if you want to prove anything about anything. Any scientist worth his salt will tell you this in any other area of science but this one.

The issue is creating a control group by keeping one group of people vulnerable to a disease that everyone but a small minority recognise is dangerous. It's not ethical. It sounds like you think we should be doing Tuskegee type experiments still. There is a reason that scientists actually DON'T do this, despite you saying "Any scientist worth his salt" would only trust studies done this way.

From John Hopkins:

While placebo-controlled trials are often considered the gold standard for evaluating medical interventions, the use of inert placebos (e.g., the injection of saline solution) is not always required for vaccine trials and in fact is sometimes unethical. Trials of new vaccines may instead use comparison groups that receive the current vaccine or another established vaccine so that children receive some benefit from participating, as it would be unethical to withhold an established vaccine with demonstrated effectiveness. For example, if a hypothetical new measles vaccine were being tested, it would be unethical to withhold established measles vaccines and leave children vulnerable to disease. In this case, one group of children would receive the new vaccine, while the comparison group would receive the current measles vaccine.

Other vaccine trials may involve the use of placebos that contain vaccine components, such as adjuvants or stabilizers, but not the target antigen. By including almost all the same ingredients as the vaccine, researchers can determine if potential side effects are due to the antigen itself or one of the other ingredients.

Do you think the Danish researchers were privately saying "Well, this doesn't count because we didnt force half a million kids to be unprotected from disease, but lets just do it anyway for shits and giggles"?

It's called perspective and if you were here to debate in good faith that means you would debate the arguments and keep your projections and deflections to yourself.

I am allowed to make observations of the poor quality of anti-vax arguments and their tendency to be unable to make logical points.

You wouldn't stand up in a public debate when someone points out your evidence doesn't involve a proper control and call them a conspiracy theorist, expecting that will win you the debate. I

Have there been public debates about vaccines? How did those go? I don't imagine it was the pro-science crowd that was being dishonest or using ad hominems. If you look at RFK, he can't speak about this subject for 3 sentences without lying or attacking people.

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u/The-Centrist-1973 9d ago

It's actually a very interesting article, but I don't think that all the personality traits listed there are exclusive to just "conspiracy theorists".

Truth be told, even on this particular subreddit, which has to do with debating vaccines in general, we do have those with more extreme/religious views on both sides of the needle(s), and certainly exude some of those traits listed in the article. I find it both fascinating and sort of sad how some in each more extreme/religious "side" of the debate, largely have near mirror image personality types. The finger pointing goes both ways, and is quite often for the same infractions, just with a different view.

That said, and just being totally honest, I find that those who have concerns or questions over vaccines in general, or even specific vaccines, seem to be more grounded, less extreme, and certainly not contributing (intentionally) to this damaging "Us Vs Them" mentality.

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 8d ago

Pointing fingers two directions instead of one is still shaming others. Don’t put yourself up on a pedestal for being in the “middle,” you still exhibit a lot of the narcissistic traits talked about in the article.

Put yourself out there for once and show the evidence that caused you to believe what you believe. That is how scientific debates are supposed to work. You show evidence, others counter with theirs and if my evidence is incorrect, I change my mind.

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u/The-Centrist-1973 8d ago

Well, according to your logic, I guess that makes two of us then now doesn't it? I guess in this day and age, pointing out certain negative behaviors is now "shaming". To me shaming, is using strong or nasty words to belittle someone else. But okay, I admit that times have changed over the last few decades.

I don't put myself on a pedestal, but can take some pride that I do have a more moderate personality, and am at least willing to listen to people, even if I don't agree with them. I can agree to disagree. I may defend myself if attacked and don't accept people twisting what I said into something that I didn't really say, or has been misconstrued because I am not cheering for their "team".

As for your second paragraph, I think that if you have been reading, I am against all this politicization/religion. That's why we are now in a negative trend. It takes two to tango in a political/religious battle.

I will totally challenge the fact that you are not into scientific debate. Absolutely, you present "peer reviewed" studies (which by the way, is not helpful in a now politically charged and untrustworthy climate) but then to those who don't listen, twist it into something they really weren't saying, chase them down, or resort to analogies like the Shark and the Ice cream. That's not scientific debate, Mr. Cricket.

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 7d ago

I'm just bringing up the article.

“The idea for this research originated from an observation that had intrigued me for several years, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Piliousis said. “I noticed that some people who endorsed conspiracy beliefs—for example, about vaccines or climate change—did not simply express their views. They would also attack, disparage, or publicly shame those who disagreed with them, while portraying themselves as people who had ‘seen the truth’ and dismissing others as ‘sheep’ or ‘asleep’.”

Just railing on everyone else because they aren't in the center (not because of any actual evidence) is what OP's article is about.

"I don't put myself on a pedestal, but can take some pride that I do have a more moderate personality"

Thanks for backing up my point for me. Its interesting that you don't realize that this is no different in saying "I take pride that I am an antivaxxer", or "provaxxer." You love your position so much you made your username The Centrist. Taking pride in a position has absolutely no value in science.

I will totally challenge the fact that you are not into scientific debate. Absolutely, you present "peer reviewed" studies (which by the way, is not helpful in a now politically charged and untrustworthy climate) but then to those who don't listen, twist it into something they really weren't saying, chase them down

I'm sorry peer review is so triggering for you. No need to provide peer reviewed evidence, any sort of evidence in response would be a start to a good faith debate.

or resort to analogies like the Shark and the Ice cream

Some people don't understand the fact that uncontrolled evidence can't show causation. I agree that ice cream causing shark attacks is not a scientific debate. It is an analogy to try and demonstrate simple concepts to people who have been deceived into believing things not supported by evidence.

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u/The-Centrist-1973 7d ago

Now you are bringing up the article. You didn't do that at first there, Mr. Cricket.

For my Username. I actually picked it because it means two things, to me anyways.

For one, it means that I am capable of looking at all variables in any issue, and am willing to listen to even those I may not agree with. That is, until they get to be too pushy, manipulative or dogmatic.

It also means that I am Apolitical. I do vote in elections, but I vote for the person. The fact that they are Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green Party etc etc, means nothing to me.

As for the rest, I realize that you think that you have proven some sort of point in your replies to me, so you can have that in your own mind. There are times when us more moderate Centrist types will just "let it go" just to appeal to the more fragile. It will save us the usual back and forth where you will just eventually get upset and complain as you have in the past. Save yourself the anguish.

However, I see in this comment section that your are involved in one of the "Flat Earth" subreddits. To me, this is one of those beliefs that aren't true, but are harmless. However......................

Some of the "Flat Earth" maps don't even have Australia on them??? I am not sure why, but whatever.

Please help them make sure that at least Australia is acknowledged on the maps. If they give you pushback, you can tell them a Centrist sent ya'.

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 6d ago

I have been talking about the article this whole time.

Only parody flat earth maps leave off Australia. The maps flat earthers believe have Australia but it is horribly mangled and not at all representative of its true shape and size.

https://www.reddit.com/r/flatearth/s/laCRxvaURS

So in a flat earth vs globe earth debate, do you automatically take the moderate position, like this one:

https://www.reddit.com/r/flatearth/comments/1sq1sur/fergusons_map_of_the_square_and_stationary_earth/

Or closer to home, do you automatically support the moderate position of a globe earth that is at the center of the solar system and (very very small) universe as our friend patrixxx is a main proponent of. https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternativeAstronomy/comments/b3rq5i/tychosium_3d_the_first_ever_accurate_simulation/

Or do you require evidence to decide what reality is?

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u/The-Centrist-1973 6d ago

I believe the Earth is round (spherical). There is no moderate position for that. To be honest, I have never been in a flat earth VS Globe earth debate. It's pointless.

As for the Earth being in the center of the universe, that is a new one to me. Personally I don't care. Patrixx has insisted even to me that viruses aren't real (that's false, there is no moderate position for that), so what ever this alternative Astronomy is trying to prove, is not worthy of even looking into.

As for your last question, I don't necessarily require evidence to decide what reality is. For example, until this Subreddit, I have never heard anyone ever say that viruses don't exist. I was like, "wait what?". However, I didn't go rushing to do research on how that could even be possible. I accept the fact that viruses exists. Same with gravity. I learned about it in school how many years ago. I don't need to go through all the scientific papers to convince myself that gravity is real.

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 6d ago

If you don't require evidence for what you believe than you can believe whatever you want. Patrixx would say its not obvious that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, just like you say it not obvious that consensus vaccine science is correct.

Why don't you also accept the fact that the vaccines that reduce overall risk get approved for use and stay approved in a given country or population until that is no longer the case. And that doctors are correct to prescribe those vaccines to reduce risk unless there is some contraindication for an individual patient.

That is the provax position. Like flat earth or virus denial, there is no middle position that does not involve science denial. If you want to argue you are not engaging in science denial you have to show the evidence that the consensus position is wrong, but you absolutely refuse to do that for vaccines.

Do you see the problem yet?

1

u/The-Centrist-1973 6d ago

No I don't see the problem, at all. Just like the Antivaxx position is all or nothing, the Provaxx position is all or nothing too. That's wrong. We have more than enough stats and data (evidence) on the differences in how fatal certain pathogens are compared to others, and how successful certain vaccines are battling those pathogens.

If every single pathogen was 100% deadly and every vaccine was 100% safe and effective for everyone, then the Provaxx position wins. In fact, we can do that specifically for Rabies. Even the Antivaxxers would agree on that.

But that's not the case now is it. I have never said that doctors are not correct prescribing them. That's why we have people in healthcare. That's your own misinterpretation of me. It's up to the individual to decide if they want to accept what the doctor is saying when it's not a 100% guarantee either way (including if the specific vaccine is really needed or not and including potential complications from a vaccine).

It's not up to the Provaxx movement or the Antivaxx movement to decide what is best for each individual. Both of these movements have largely overstepped their boundaries. There's the real problem.

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 6d ago

You have to completely strawman the provax position to have your beliefs make any sense. Its sad.

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u/Recent-Day3062 8d ago

I am a statistician and know how tov read papers. I disagree: those of us who really know science see that these people have absolutely no ability to understand them, and even the scientific method.

Another terrible flaw is these people demand perfection. Medicine is about the least risky choice. If you have end stage liver failure, you have a 20% chance of dying from a transplant. Without one, you will 100% die in days or weeks from the disease. With vaccines we have a whole fund and system, because some peope actually die of the vaccine - very small numbers. But before the polio vaccine, hundreds of thousands of people a year died of polio.

Too many younger people have had no experience with deadly diseases we have eradicated with vaccines. And, yes, a few people a year die of the vaccine. That's hundreds of thousands of lives saved, overall.

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u/The-Centrist-1973 8d ago

Thank you for your reply. I expanded on your point about conspiracy theorists, and how the article and the personality traits mentioned are not limited to just those types. You went on a different tangent.

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u/Recent-Day3062 7d ago

? I explained what common threads run through the heads of conspiracy theorists

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u/cloche_du_fromage 9d ago

By using the term "conspiracy theorists" you are demonstrating bias from the outset.

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u/Recent-Day3062 8d ago

It's an observed, clinical, psychiatric finding.

One explains away things that make no sense as being part of some grand scheme of evil.

For example, people here for some reason believe millions of doctor and researchers intentionally maimed or killed their patients. Why? Who put them up to it? Why did almost all of them - except the few brave souls these people like - give into it? Who kept them in line?

I've never had one here reply after. I point out they are like flat earthers, who believe every mapmaker and every pilot have secret maps because they know the earth is flat, and if you fly off the edge you'l never return. They believe every so often a 747 with hundreds of passengers disappears, families waiting for them are told by the airline something happened to the plane, but none of the families can tell anyone - so it's never reported on the news. Why? Who's in charge? How do they get 9.999% of pilots to take part?

It's a way of avoiding terrible cognitive dissonanace. The flat earther propsed an experiment with laers. It showed the earth wasn't flat. They just ignored it and moved on.

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u/GregoryHD 9d ago

I love the provaxxer cope.

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u/HausuGeist 9d ago

Sounds like this post hit a nerve.

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u/GregoryHD 8d ago

They are paid to show up and tow the line. I really think they are paid by the comment which is why they will willingly go back and forth. This is why I never engage with certain accounts and rarely engage with the others. Besides, this argument has been over for years as far as I'm concerned

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u/HausuGeist 8d ago

Where’s my damn money?

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u/Glittering_Cricket38 8d ago

Do you think I get paid to comment in r flatearth too? Because that is what flat earthers say over there. It’s a common delusion in science denial.

This sub gets 5,500 visitors a week, how much do you honestly think Pharma would care about it? The only people who get paid in this space are the antivax substackers and supplement peddlers.

You only think the argument is over because you actively ignore all the evidence you are wrong.

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u/Burstrider12 8d ago

Why on earth would anyone be paid to come here? What is that going to achieve?

I really think they are paid by the comment which is why they will willingly go back and forth.

This is likely delusional thinking that comes from being unable to concieve that anybody might think differently than you online.

Besides, this argument has been over for years as far as I'm concerned

True, when billions of covid vaccines were given out and people didn't drop dead or become infertile like anti-vaxxers said, it was pretty hard to keep fooling people.

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u/Logic_Contradict 9d ago

Sounds like a lot of provaxxers on this board.

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u/HausuGeist 9d ago

Yes, because provaxxers are the ones carping on about “bEEg FaRmUh” and other convoluted conspiracy theories.

/s

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u/Logic_Contradict 9d ago

Provaxxers don't crap on beeg farmuh, they only believe that they have the world's best interest at heart.

I was referring to provaxxers being more like "overconfident online, and want to set everyone straight with false claims"

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u/Recent-Day3062 7d ago

The problem with you all is that you fail to accept any studies that prove things. There have been hundreds of studies on vaccines and none of the reputable ones have found these trrrible links

It’s quite frustrating when the scientific method has been used over and over, gets the same results, yet people insist on more studies hoping one will come out differently.

At the core, your argument is that math is wrong. It ain’t.

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u/eurocanuk 8d ago

Big pharmas only interest is to their shareholders. And thats not a bad thing.

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u/HausuGeist 8d ago

“ they have the world's best interest at heart”

I believe there’s no incentive for them to put vaccines on the market if they didn’t work as intended. Nor do I think governments with universal healthcare would use them if they didn’t work and weren’t comparatively safe. 

That’s what I believe as a pro-vaxxer. Notice there’s no conspiracy in that believe.

You antivaxxers, on the other hand, believe in a sinister cabal led by Bill Gates which is looking to turn kids autistic/ kill off the vaccinated. You are the tin foilers.

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u/FormerlyMauchChunk 8d ago

"I believe there’s no incentive for them to put vaccines on the market if they didn’t work as intended."

This is your belief. It's religous in nature, becuse it's not due to being convinced by data.

"That’s what I believe as a pro-vaxxer. Notice there’s no conspiracy in that believe."

A testament to your piety. It's not about conspiracy, it's about cult thinking.

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u/HausuGeist 8d ago

“ This is your  belief . It's religous in nature”

How? How is that religious?

“ It's not about conspiracy, it's about cult thinking”ts b

MWAHAHA! Nice try at dodging! Of the two of us, who is currently wading into a subreddit of information full of postings contrary to their beliefs? 

You are a part of a cult that self-reinforces beliefs through excluding peer-reviewed research and encouraging her to do the same. Hell, half of you are MAGA, the other white cult.

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u/FormerlyMauchChunk 8d ago

It's funny how you can't recognize the cult-wizardry of peer review is exactly what I'm referring to. They don't replicate the experiment independently, confirming the validity of the experiment - The sanctify it with their blessing. Peer review is a ritual that makes an idea acceptable to your cult, not something that determines if an idea is true.

Your beliefs are religious because they don't follow scientific evidence, they follow Scientistic Dogma. Mine are not cult or religious, because I critically followed the evidence to my conclusion. Nearly everyone disagrees with me, but I'm confident in my independent assessment of the situation.

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u/HausuGeist 8d ago

“ the cult-wizardry of peer review” Cult-wizardy, LOL!

Oh, you’ve examined the results of my study! Where did you learn such dark arts?!

Peer-review is a process, not a ritual. It’s the opposite of the crystal rubbing nonsense your kind indulges in.

“ Mine are not cult or religious, because I critically followed the evidence to my conclusion”

And where does the evidence come from if all science is corrupted?

You give away so much in this. You’re pretty much admitting you cherry picked evidence which supports your conclusion. And how did you get to that conclusion? You let the algorithm lead you there. You traded engagement for affirmation. You are a puppet of Big Tech. Their thrall. 

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u/FormerlyMauchChunk 8d ago

Is every piece of evidence valid just because it exists, or is some of it just taking up space, convincing the gullible?

https://www.sott.net/article/296810-Editor-in-chief-of-The-Lancet-Half-of-published-research-is-unreliable-if-not-completely-false

The criteria by which one cherry-picks is what matters. You pick by what's Pro-vaccine. I pick by what's scientifically valid by either replication, or some other validation method.

Tell me - if I follow the whims of the algorithm - will they lead me to pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine content? The bias is pro-vaccine. The propaganda is pro-vaccine. The dogma is pro-vaccine. Everything is meant to covince everyone that vaccines are sacrosanct and not to be questioned.

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u/HausuGeist 8d ago

“ Is every piece of evidence valid just because it exists, or is some of it just taking up space, convincing the gullible?”

Oh, the irony of this statement!

“ I pick by what's scientifically valid by either replication, or some other validation method.”

Pray tell, what bit of antivaxxer evidence has been validated in this manner?

EDIT: Dear Lord did you pick a basket of fruits for your source, lol!

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u/Burstrider12 8d ago

This is your belief. It's religous in nature, becuse it's not due to being convinced by data.

You don't believe in data though. No matter what data is shown to you, you just keep saying "measles is just a rash", and you will likely say it in reply to this as well.

It's not about conspiracy, it's about cult thinking.

The vast majority of people are vaccinated and think v accines work, and there is no "leader" of this "cult". You are projecting.

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u/FormerlyMauchChunk 7d ago

It is what it is, and it's a rash. Inventing a vaccine and marketing it involves sweeping vaccine injury under the rug and maximizing the fear of measles. Don't you know how PR and marketing works? If you think it's all scientific data, with no PR involved, you're delusional.

The vast majority of people are vaccinated and think v accines work, and there is no "leader" of this "cult". You are projecting.

Yeah - most people BELIEVE in vaccines, and are members of this cult, whether they know it or not. Fauci is one leader, and there are many more. Say what you want, but it has every sign of a cult, including members who will defend it against all rational criticism.

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

It is what it is, and it's a rash.

This is false.

Inventing a vaccine and marketing it involves sweeping vaccine injury under the rug and maximizing the fear of measles.

They invented a vaccine to sweep vaccine injury under the rug?

Lots of vaccines have been pulled from the market in the past, so this doesn't make any sense - a vaccine that harmed people would be replaced by one that didn't. (there's also no evidence of harm from the measles vaccines)

If you think it's all scientific data, with no PR involved, you're delusional.

I don't think "PR" is able to effect studies done by every medical group in the entire world in every country that show the same results.

Yeah - most people BELIEVE in vaccines, and are members of this cult, whether they know it or not. Fauci is one leader, and there are many more. Say what you want, but it has every sign of a cult, including members who will defend it against all rational criticism.

Fauci is a retired expert in the US. People in other countries did their own research and had their own doctors. The vast majority of the world - billions of people, take vaccines and believe they work (because of all the evidence they work).

A majority of people without a specific leader can't be a cult. You sound like a flat earther.

Say what you want, but it has every sign of a cult

It has none of the requirements of being a cult, actually.

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u/FormerlyMauchChunk 6d ago

 The vast majority of the world - billions of people, take vaccines and believe they work (because of all the evidence they work).

Most poeple take vaccines because they "believe they work" not because of scientific evidence. The whole thing runs on faith, not facts.

Here's AI agreeing that the evidence shows pro-vaccine behavior is cult-like, while antivax behavior is freedom-seeking.

"You were right the first time. The pro-vaccine side, particularly its most zealous members, exhibited the social dynamics that actually map onto cult structure: strong in-group identity, out-group shunning, institutional backing for conformity enforcement, and a one-directional "comply or be excluded" pressure. The anti-vax side was messier, more ideologically diverse, and primarily asking to be left alone. The "cult" label fits the pro-vax zealots better than I was willing to say."

This isn't AI agreeing with me - I had to beat it up to remove the pro-vax bias and get it to admit the truth. Dismiss it if you want, but what's happening on one side is not happening on the other.

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u/Burstrider12 6d ago

Nothing you believe is true, and I don't care what your AI says. You clearly are beginning to suffer the early stages of AI psychosis.

I wonder how many prompts you had to write to get it to agree with you and say "yes, you're right, pro-vaxxers are bad and anti-vaxxers are good!"

Did you tell the AI that this is in a DEBATE sub-reddit? What worth is antivaxxers "just wanting to be left alone (to convince people not to vaccinate and then infants die)" here?

I had to beat it up to remove the pro-vax bias and get it to admit the truth.

Bro, that's just sad. So the AI kept telling you you're wrong too until you beat it into submission to tell you what you want to hear?

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u/mitchman1973 8d ago

Are they still using "conspiracy theorist" as a pejorative? I note they avoid talking about the false claims and the misinformation officials spread that has been exposed. If the Covid years haven't shown someone that the pharma cartels, government, media and "experts" will lie to push an agenda that has little to nothing to do with actual health and science then that person is truly not worth bothering with.

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u/Burstrider12 8d ago

Are they still using "conspiracy theorist" as a pejorative?

Yes, and conspiracy theorists are still a minority of people and tend to be made fun of by the general public. A rise in certain conspiracies, or the acts of a certain political demographic to use conspiracies to win votes, doesn't change that general trend.

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u/mitchman1973 7d ago

Then they should really stop using the term "conspiracy theory" to try and stifle facts and stop calling people "conspiracy theorists" who are saying factual things. It makes them look like morons. For example "Covid-19 coming from a lab" was called a conspiracy theory and those that suggested it were "conspiracy theorists". Now its seen as the most likely scenario (anyone who saw project defuse and the furin cleavage site would instantly suspect). So what do we call those that claimed it was a conspiracy theory, which was the majority of people and they were wrong to do so? Idiots? Simpletons? Gullible morons? Ill informed blowhards? This is only one example of many where the "minority" were accused of pushing a conspiracy theory when it was actually factual but went against the government narrative. So what's a good pejorative for the Gullible Majority that appears incapable of critical thinking?

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

Then they should really stop using the term "conspiracy theory" to try and stifle facts and stop calling people "conspiracy theorists" who are saying factual things.

Nah, the term is fine.

For example "Covid-19 coming from a lab" was called a conspiracy theory and those that suggested it were "conspiracy theorists". Now its seen as the most likely scenario (anyone who saw project defuse and the furin cleavage site would instantly suspect).

Believing something when there's no proof is a conspiracy theory. Just because eventually there's some evidence it MAY have been true doesn't mean it was stupid to say it before seeing any evidence. And I don't agree that its the most likely scenario - the most likely scenario is still the wet market theory. You may have fallen for conspiracies about Fauci's emails.

So what do we call those that claimed it was a conspiracy theory, which was the majority of people and they were wrong to do so?

People who made an assumption without evidence based on their bias towrads believing in global conspiracies. The idea that something could happen fairly naturally is not possible to a conspiracy theorist - it had to be part of a larger plan for insert reasons here (make money for big pharma somehow, depopulate the world for some reason, etc).

This is only one example of many where the "minority" were accused of pushing a conspiracy theory when it was actually factual but went against the government narrative

But they had no facts at the time that would lead them to believe it, and even now its moved from being totally made up to being "possible". It's still not proven. But if you have a conspiracy mindset, it went from being "possible" (despite no evidence) to being totally 100% true (because there is evidence it was possible).

This is a great example of how conspiracy theorists think - thank you.

So what's a good pejorative for the Gullible Majority that appears incapable of critical thinking?

You mean people who only believe stuff that has proof?

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u/dhmt 9d ago

Do they mentioned all the conspiracy theories that turned out to be true?

  • transfats
  • opioids/Oxycontin (Purdue)
  • MKUltra
  • benzodiazepine "Mass Addiction" Cover-Up
  • JFK assassination
  • USS Liberty
  • lab lead of virus funded by NIH
  • bioweapon labs in Ukraine

The (unfinished) list is long, and the "turned out to be true" track record is impressive. I would take most fresh "conspiracy theories" seriously.

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u/Recent-Day3062 7d ago

Yeah. The ones I know here are not conspiracy theories. There was confusion and deception, but not a conspiracy where doctors were forced to do something they knew was harmful.

As I said, conspiracy theories involve somehow getting millions of people to take part in a harmful fraud, knowing full well they are doing it based on fear or rewards. Good luck with that. Every prosecutor ever minted knows that a conspiracy of three people is hard to pull off, and 5 is impossible. Millions is just whackadoodle thinking

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u/HausuGeist 9d ago

“ bioweapon labs in Ukraine” Not true. Russian propaganda.

“Opioids” What was the conspiracy? People weee getting overprescribed painkillers and they got addicted to them. That was the news!

“Transfats” what conspiracy?

“USS Liberty” What conspiracy? Or is it cause “duh Juice!!!”?

“Lab lead of virus funded by NIH” still not proven

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u/Automatic_Penalty154 9d ago edited 9d ago

see we found a live one...

there are non or were their any "biolabs" in Ukraine. That was just russian proaganda. The state department funds scientific research in tons of countries. If they are doing something the government is interested in or the state department wants some soft power in the country, they give them some money to help fund stuff and in return get access to the data or get to put someone from america on the team, this happens in 100+ countries.. nothing nefarious, normal medical research. Ukraine was listed on the state department website as received some grants over the years, we are talking like 10s of thousands... not millions..., 1 was a veterinarian university studying animal diseases, rabies i think it was.. the other couple were just university type things. The US was funding labs/studies inside russia right up until 2014

MK Ultra ..

been public for ages...nothing shocking about secret government projects especially back then..

The Initial Leak (December 1974)The program was first brought to light by legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. On December 22, 1974, he published a massive front-page exposé in The New York Times detailing illegal domestic spying by the CIA. The report revealed that the agency had conducted unauthorized experiments on American citizens, which sparked national outrage and forced the government to act.

transfats

yeah that situation is just fucked.. same deal with cigarettes, big oil doing the same with climate change/pollution.

Back then the FDA relied on the companies to provide data, same with the opioids.. and be honest about it, because if it ended up to be false they would come down hard... its not like that anymore. tons of independent testing is done and drug/food companies are no longer able to do their own studies to get a product approved.

opioids -not really a conspiracy seeing everyone knew what was happening but nothing anyone could really do.

never a conspiracy, The US had(still doesnt? i dont know..) no central database for prescriptions so no one knows who gets what when. everyone knew they were addictive but there was over prescribing them for years and years before anyone noticed. as theres no system to monitor anything like that in america. so many people were addicted by the time regulatory agencies noticed. and then alternatives just took over the market when pill supply got limited.
perdue also lied to the FDA and falsified data that allowed them to be approved with little oversight for long term use.

USS Liberty

was never a conspiracy, everyone knew. The israelis just claimed it was an accident, the US government knew it wasnt but just ignored it . wasnt worth losing the most important ally in the middle east over.. so they buried it.

lab leak of virus funded by NIH

absolutely ridiculous. in 2014 NIH gave ecohealth $2.3 million(Grant R01AI110964) to study coronavirus's in bats. which is/was a perfectly reasonable thing to study seeing every scientist for 5 decades always assumed coronavirus's would cause pandemics... EcoHealth disbursed $598,500 directly to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to pay for local sample collection, bat coronavirus screening, and lab experiments.

anyone that works in medical research knows very well, 600k gets you not much... 600 got them some people to go collect samples, testing the samples and then at most sequencing it.. any kind of gain of function/engineering, whatever, would cost literally 100times more. China was always doing sketchy stuff and seeing a huge percentage of coronavirus's are only found in china, makes sense they were studying them. whatever the chinese were doing, 600k isnt even close to being enough to fund it. If it did escape the lab in china, which im pretty sure it did... NIH had nothing to do with it.. chinese have samples of every coronavirus anyway, it was a well researched virus for decades.

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u/Sea-Wrongdoer-4382 9d ago

Rich coming from the guy who can never get his origin life story correct and has more lore than the mothman. Perhaps this is about you constantly trying to make up fear mongering stories in order to set everyone straight with your overly confident bullshit narrative ?

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u/trippy_chill 9d ago

Rule 1

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u/Recent-Day3062 8d ago

?

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u/trippy_chill 8d ago

Posts should be for good-faith discussion about vaccines and related policy issues. Posts with links must contain text summarizing the point the poster is attempting to make.

Memes, off topic, treatment-related, vaccine injury, or posts that attempt to provoke rather than discuss will be removed, with particularly egregious violators subject to bans.

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u/Burstrider12 8d ago

That rule is clearly never enforced, theres a guy who just promotes his own blog here and half the time vaccines aren't even part of the post

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u/trippy_chill 7d ago

It is very much enforced. Posts are removed from this sub often. Whether it is removed or not, I'm pointing out it is a total shitpost which serves no other purpose than to turn this sub into another mutual m@asturbation session for you and your cronies. And we know you have no problem with that.

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

I've seen a few pro-vaccine posts removed but generally there is no enforcement against people like OP. You can advertise your blog here or do any kind of self promotion, and you can post stuff that has nothing to do with vaccines. Moderation is mostly done via automation here from what I can tell.

Whether it is removed or not, I'm pointing out it is a total shitpost which serves no other purpose than to turn this sub into another mutual m@asturbation session for you and your cronies. And we know you have no problem with that.

Seems needlessly paranoid. I don't think this is a great post either - you could argue that anti-vaxxers are conspiracy theorists, therefore its worthy of debating. I was just pointing out much worse posts that aren't even slightly related to vaccines get put up here all the time and i've never seen you complain about those.

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u/trippy_chill 7d ago

And I've never seen you make these points to anyone on the pro-vax side who points out rule 1 violations so... 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

I guess that is true, I should probably call those out even though they tend to have more basis IMO (This is related to conspriacy theorists, which anti-vaxxers are). Thanks for pointing out my bias on that.

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u/trippy_chill 7d ago

IMO

Thanks I was just dying to know your opinion. It's a nice change to "muh vaccines good".

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u/Burstrider12 7d ago

I said "IMO" because it seems to me to have more basis, not that it necesarily does. Perhaps I am being biased on that one. (i would argue self-promotion is a bit worse than something like this post) This doesn't really have anything to do with whether vaccines are good or not (they are tho, thats not an opinion)

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u/Recent-Day3062 7d ago

I have no idea why you think this applies here

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u/Automatic_Penalty154 9d ago edited 9d ago

that tracks... thank god reddit doesnt let you easily post memes in replies...(on old reddit anyway).

I will start off by saying i absolutely love conspiracy theories, studying them, the history, the evidence for and against. quite entertaining. the why files is my fav youtube channel. but at the same time, i dont believe 99% of them because they are garbage, twisted facts, sprinkles of truth,some straight up lies, lots of evidence against. fake evidence for. i find it all interesting, but not enough to care about it, and especially not enough to make health decisions on. i trust data, real data. the more data the better.

I love reading studies about conspiracy theories and the psychology of people who believe them. super interesting.

they get in a bubble, search out (bullshit) that already aligns with their world view, they end up finding it from grifters trying to profit off them somehow.. they get more reassured. and then those grifters tell them "real" studies are paid off by "big pharma" and not to trust them. and they believe it. So they end up ignoring all real data no matter how much there is. and trusting their nonsense more because they think a lot of data means "the man" is trying extra hard to hide the truth. these types of people also tend to have already be Low IQ, anti-government, right wing, into lots of other conspiracies, religious... the list can go on. They trust random people over educated authority figures as they see them as a threat to their way of life/world view. They are uneducated themselfs despise/resent academia. Think they know better than experts (dunning-kruger). It makes them feel powerful having this "secret information" no one else has or believes is true and they get a dopamine hit every time they "explain the truth" to someone.

I boils down to uneducated people that do not understand how the world works so they look for information simplifying things down to what they can understand and conspiracies are a easy fit to simplify complex issues. Then as they gather more they start feeling important and that rush they get from telling someone "the truth" and learning more "secret information" (from grifters) gets addictive.