"Earlier this week, President Donald Trump and his celebrity health ministers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Oz held a press conference to announce an evidence-free claim that pregnant women taking acetaminophen causes autism in children. Trump's rambling speech provided no evidence other than his repeated assertions that pregnant women should not take the painkiller commonly sold under the brand name Tylenol."
"Watching from afar, as a trans journalist who has been covering trans issues for about a decade, I found it interesting how many people - and corporate news outlets - questioned the obvious disinformation so quickly. The New York Times devoted several reporters to debunking the alternative reality the administration was trying to present when it comes to autism and Tylenol."
"Those same outlets have not treated obvious disinformation from conservatives about transgender health care in the same way, instead portraying the handful of health providers who question the evidence-based standards of care developed over several decades as brave rebel truth tellers.But there's no real difference between an acetaminophen scaremonger like RFK Jr. and an anti-trans obsessive like J.K. Rowling. Neither are doctors, both have been poisoned by a steady stream of online propaganda and disinformation."
President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Oz held a press conference asserting without evidence that pregnant women taking acetaminophen causes autism in children. Major outlets like The New York Times quickly devoted reporting to debunking the claim and labeled it disinformation. Many corporate media outlets, however, have not responded as skeptically to conservative misinformation about transgender health care, often portraying dissenting providers as courageous outsiders. Prominent non-experts such as RFK Jr. and J.K. Rowling spread unscientific claims fueled by online propaganda. The unequal media treatment amplifies stigma, undermines evidence-based transgender care standards developed over decades, and perpetuates harm.
Read at Truthout
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