Ralph Baric's work on gain-of-function research, which includes manipulating viruses in the lab to study their behavior, has faced controversy and blame due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite facing public scrutiny and disinformation campaigns, Baric's research played a crucial role in the development and testing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. Baric is now working on a pan-coronavirus vaccine using mRNA technology to address potential future outbreaks.

His efforts are set amid a backdrop of growing public debate around gain-of-function research, with calls for transparency and regulatory oversight. Baric remains dedicated to his work, navigating the threats and public backlash with the support of his scientific community.

Gain-of-function research refers to the study of biological entities, typically viruses, where the entities are genetically manipulated to endow or enhance certain properties or functions. This might involve, for example, increasing the transmissibility of a virus, its virulence, or its ability to infect different species. The primary objective of gain-of-function research is to better understand disease-causing agents, their potential effects, and how they evolve.

The photos of children participating in satanic rituals at school were created by generative artificial intelligence.

The After School Satan Club, organized by The Satanic Temple, hosted a meeting at a public elementary school in Virginia. But these AI-generated photos do not show the club or real children.

The anti-abortion group Live Action recently reshared hidden-camera videos from 2011 that show hired actors posing at multiple Planned Parenthood locations as underage sex workers with their adult sex traffickers.

Planned Parenthood said the videos are edited to show only parts of the conversations between Planned Parenthood employees and the undercover actors. Planned Parenthood fired the employee shown in one video for acting inappropriately; the employee in the other video followed the law and company protocol.

This new post omits that soon after the incidents shown in the videos, Planned Parenthood workers reported the alleged sex trafficking to authorities and fired the non-compliant employee.

A concept to reduce city traffic called the "15-minute city" is being accused by far-right critics as a Communist-style attack on personal freedoms. This urban planning principle aims to locate resources such as grocery stores, schools, and hospitals within walking distance of homes to lower carbon emissions. Opponents, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have attacked each other's policies that mirror the 15-minute city concept, twisting it into a narrative of oppressive government control.

Misinformation spread on far-right media platforms suggests that efforts to reduce city traffic equate to surveillance and restriction of movement, likening it to "climate lockdowns" and the "Great Reset."

Despite the conspiracy theories, the plan is designed to reduce transit time and greenhouse gas emissions, improving urban life and combatting climate change.

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes he has found fragments of an alien spacecraft from a meteor dubbed IM1, which crashed off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014.

He oversaw a $1.5 million expedition that found 50 tiny spherules, believed to be a steel-titanium alloy, on the Pacific Ocean floor. These objects are much stronger than the iron found in regular meteors, leading Loeb to suggest they may have interstellar origins or could have been made by an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. The findings will be taken to Harvard for further testing.

Loeb, known as the "alien hunter of Harvard," has been controversial for his belief in extraterrestrial life, previously claiming a space rock visible in 2017 was an alien-built technology.

This article (written by D.J. Grothe) explains how Uri Geller, known for bending spoons and claiming supernatural abilities, is not a magician, but a con man.

Despite being debunked numerous times, Geller built his fame and wealth on the deception that his feats were real, which deeply offended the magic community and skeptics.

Surprisingly, the magic community has recently started to embrace Geller, overlooking his controversial past due to his charm and celebrity status. However, Grothe disagrees with this change of heart and with the New York Times' portrayal of Geller as a redeemed entertainer. In Grothe's view, Geller's continued deceptions and lack of remorse should serve as a warning, not as an endorsement of his actions.

This article discusses the effects of vitamin D supplementation on major cardiac events, based on a large randomized controlled trial, the D-Health Trial.

The trial involved 21,315 older Australians and aimed to assess the impact of monthly vitamin D supplementation (60,000 IU) on the incidence of major cardiovascular events. The study found no significant difference in the rate of major cardiovascular events between those receiving vitamin D and those receiving a placebo.

However, a few individual events showed statistically significant differences, albeit very slight. Despite these minor positive results, the trial overall adds to existing research suggesting that vitamin D supplementation offers no significant cardiovascular benefits.

Recently, it was disclosed that the World Health Organization (WHO) is considering reclassifying artificial sweetener aspartame as a 'possible' carcinogen, reigniting long-standing rumors and conspiracy theories about its safety. However, more than 60 scientific bodies worldwide and thousands of studies maintain aspartame's safety for human consumption, barring those with phenylketonuria.

The confusion arises from the complexities of risk research and the misunderstanding of the difference between 'hazard' and 'risk'. The WHO's classification system is focused on hazard potential, not actual risk, and this prospective reclassification of aspartame does not assert it as a definitive cancer-causing agent.

Despite ongoing debates, current evidence still firmly supports that aspartame's consumption levels in humans pose no cancer risk.

Michael Protzman, leader of a JFK-QAnon cult, known as Negative 48, has died following a dirt bike accident.

Protzman, who had tens of thousands of followers on Telegram, promoted conspiracy theories that John F. Kennedy and his son JFK Jr. were still alive. After a failed prediction of their reappearance in Dallas, he altered his conspiracy narratives to keep his followers invested.

His followers, many of whom abandoned families and depleted their savings, still believe in his conspiracies and some think his death is part of a grand plan. A follower has proposed herself as Protzman's successor, and while some predict new conspiracies surrounding his death, others believe his following will gradually move on to other influencers.

A 40-year-old man named Kimbrady Carriker was charged with five counts of murder after shooting victims at random during Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia.

Despite there being no evidence to suggest that the suspect is transgender, far-right figures and Republican lawmakers falsely claimed him to be and used this to attack the LGBTQ+ community.

The suspect's now-deleted Facebook page displayed numerous posts about his pro-gun stance and support for former President Donald Trump. Images on the account of Carriker with long braided hair and wearing women's clothing were used by far-right members to label him as a "trans shooter".

This event follows a pattern of exploiting tragedies to spread transphobia and undermine LGBTQ+ protections by the far right.

The article debunks the antivaccine misinformation campaign by Aaron Siri and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They cast doubts on the safety and efficacy of vaccines by contesting the use of placebos in clinical trials.

Siri misrepresents the toxicity of vaccine ingredients, using the example of sodium phosphate, whose harm at high doses is misleadingly extrapolated to the minuscule amounts used in vaccines. His deceptive tactics also extend to other vaccine components like polysorbate-80.

However, safety sheets for these substances refer to risks with substantial doses, not the tiny amounts found in vaccines.

The article also emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations in clinical trial designs, which sometimes requires using existing vaccines as controls instead of saline placebos.

Conspiracy beliefs are more common than expected, with half of Americans subscribing to at least one, and their popularity varies depending on political and psychological traits.

A study by Joe Uscinski explored this variance, correlating belief in 39 different conspiracy theories with 15 psychological and political characteristics (Manicheanism, Machiavellianism etc.).

The study found that while conspiratorial thinking was the biggest predictor of individual conspiracy beliefs, psychological traits, such as the dark triad, and political ideologies, such as Manicheanism and populism, were the strongest predictors of a broad range of conspiracy beliefs.

Recognizing these correlations allows for more nuanced approaches in combating misinformation and reaching individuals who previously seemed unreachable.

Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, incorrectly claimed in a June 2023 tweet that a photograph of children passing by naked men was taken at an LGBT 'Pride' event.

Upon investigation, the photograph was actually captured at the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) in London on June 10, 2017, a demonstration against car culture, not at a specific Pride event.

The connection to Pride events was further disproved as a thorough examination of the WNBR London Facebook page did not reveal any content specifically related to Pride month.

A declassified report from U.S. intelligence agencies found no evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The report also indicated that the virus was neither developed as a biological weapon nor genetically engineered.

While the majority of intelligence agencies believe the virus likely came from natural exposure to an infected animal, the precise origin remains undetermined by some agencies, including the CIA.

Lastly, the report addressed rumors about the WIV's research, confirming work on coronaviruses but not those capable of causing COVID-19.

Tl;dr:

This article discusses the author's experience in arguing with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and how he realized that attempting to engage in a fact-based debate with someone prone to conspiracy theories is ultimately fruitless. The author first encountered this while countering Kennedy's claims about the 2004 presidential election, where Kennedy suggested it had been stolen from John Kerry, a claim that did not hold up under scrutiny.

The author suggests that debating with conspiracy theorists only lends legitimacy to their claims, even if their arguments aren't grounded in factual evidence. When attention is what they seek, engaging in a public debate is a form of loss, regardless of the facts presented.

Kennedy has recently come to attention again due to his controversial views on vaccines. When he spread misinformation about vaccines on Joe Rogan's podcast, there were calls for a debate with well-known vaccine researcher Peter Hotez, which Hotez has refused.

Reflecting on a public radio debate with Kennedy, the author concluded that while he corrected Kennedy's misstatements, the complexity and nuances of the truth may have made him appear pedantic and mired in detail. He argues that such debates with conspiracy theorists lead to a false impression of a balanced disagreement (one side says X, the other says Y), which ultimately does a disservice to the audience and the facts.

Fox News is facing accusations of altering Associated Press (AP) and Reuters articles to incite animosity against transgender individuals.

A media watchdog group discovered instances where Fox News modified the language of these articles, including direct quotes, using terms like "sex change" or "sex reassignment" instead of the more widely accepted term "gender-affirming care."

Fox News has also reportedly altered or removed terms such as "care" and "medical care" when discussing the healthcare needs of transgender people.

Critics argue that by not disclosing these changes, Fox News is distorting the true implications of legislation affecting transgender youth.