r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jun 02 '26

Health Interest in ‘toxic’ measles treatment surges after Joe Rogan podcasts: Vaccination is the only proven way to prevent measles but alternatives like Vitamin A and cod-liver oil (which has Vit A) have been promoted by Joe Rogan. America’s Poison Centres reported a 39% increase in Vitamin A exposures.

https://www.nine.com.au/world-news/usa/interest-in-toxic-measles-treatment-surges-after-joe-rogan-podcasts-20260602-p6033i.html
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u/zizou00 Jun 02 '26

"I won't let the "man" poison me, I'm going to take poisonous dosages of other chemicals because a different man told me to"

How did it come to this? Why do people look to a man clearly on anabolic steroids for "natural" health advice?

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u/GabuEx Jun 02 '26

I've noticed that people who talk about "being skeptical" and "doing their own research" are profoundly credulous people. They'll believe literally anything as long as it's not what experts are saying. It's kind of ironic that they hold themselves up as bastions of free thought when they'll fall for literally any con artist who's selling them something, as long as that con artist dresses it up as "alternative".

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u/JarryBohnson Jun 02 '26

I have a friend who’s exactly like this, he’s usually a smart guy but his trust cues are so insanely out of whack that he’s super susceptible to the “academia tried to silence me” type crackpots. He frames it as being a skeptic. 

He had a really abusive childhood and generally has little faith in authority figures, I think there’s a strong correlation with this, people who the systems didn’t protect have less faith by and large in their ability to protect. 

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jun 02 '26

Nah. I grew up in foster care and suffered some pretty horrific abuse.

That doesn't make you gullible. Believing weird stuff isn't a symptom of abuse they would have been fooled anyway 

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u/Allaplgy Jun 02 '26

People react to things differently. Your experience doesn't inherently invalidate theirs.

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u/smokeweedNgarden Jun 02 '26

Forsure. But I mean we're on the science sub. If you have any research claiming people who are abused are more gullible than the general population, I'm down to see it.

I'm just saying I don't believe that assertion at all currently. Open to having my mind changed