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If you have a favorable SourceWatch profile: there’s a good chance you are a crank

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Anonymous fans of cranks and crankery write nice profiles of anti-vaxxers and germ-theory deniers

Say you are sharing some information on a social media site about Sayer Ji — and a friend of yours wonders about the credibility of it, as they heard that Ji was one of the “Disinformation Dozen” superspreaders of misinformation.

Midjourney: a crank doctor peddling detox potions in the style of Pixar. LOL, I think I’ve seen “Dirtax” on the Moms Across America site. Their “ION* Gut Support (Restore)” is made of “humic substances”.

Your friend could say: well, his SourceWatch profile seems fine. He’s not paid by any of the baddies of Big Whatever…so you should definitely believe this “widely recognized thought leader in the natural health and wellness space“. Also, go buy his 9-segment documentary that reveals the dangers of vaccines when you get to his supplement-peddling and dangerous misinformation website.

As PBS described members of the Disinfo Dozen (emphasis mine):

“They include Dr. Joseph Mercola, who peddles dietary supplements to his 3.6 million followers, and has claimed that hydrogen peroxide can cure COVID-19, Sherri Tenpenny, an osteopath physician who claims that wearing a mask has negative health effects, and Sayer Ji, who runs a popular alternative health Web site and shares false claims, like that the Pfizer vaccine has killed more elderly people than COVID-19.

Heather Simpson spent years…

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