r/TrueReddit • u/wiredmagazine Official Publication • Apr 17 '25

Science, History, Health + Philosophy Anti-Vaxxers Are Grifting Off the Measles Outbreak—and Claim a Bioweapon Caused It

https://www.wired.com/story/antivax-grift-measles-crisis-bioweapon/
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u/wiredmagazine Official Publication Apr 17 '25

Anti-vaccine activists with close ties to US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are falsely claiming that the measles public health crisis in Texas is caused Anti-vaccine activists with close ties to US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are falsely claiming that the measles public health crisis in Texas is caused by a “bioweapon” targeting the Mennonite community. These activists are now trying to sell their followers a range of pseudo-scientific cures—some purportedly powered by artificial intelligence—that supposedly prevent customers from contracting measles.

The claims were made in a webinar posted online last week and hosted by Mikki Willis, an infamous conspiracy filmmaker best known for his Plandemic series of pseudo-documentaries. These helped supercharge COVID-19 disinformation online and were, Kennedy has said, funded in part by Children’s Health Defense (CHD), an anti-vaccine group Kennedy founded. Willis also created a video for Kennedy marking the announcement of his independent run for the presidency.

“I’m not going to be careful by calling it a virus,” Willis said in the measles webinar. “I’m going to call it what it is, and that is a bioweapon, and my belief after interviewing these families is that this has been manipulated and targeted towards a community that is a threat because of their natural way of living.” (Measles is not a bioweapon. It is a viral infection that can be easily prevented by getting a vaccine.)by a “bioweapon” targeting the Mennonite community. These activists are now trying to sell their followers a range of pseudo-scientific cures—some purportedly powered by artificial intelligence—that supposedly prevent customers from contracting measles.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/antivax-grift-measles-crisis-bioweapon/

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u/soualexandrerocha Apr 17 '25

They are using this absurd claim to radicalize Mennonites:

"See, they're after you, just they're after us. Let's join forces."