"Deadly Immunity" is an article written by
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American environmental lawyer and author known for promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. Kennedy is a son of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of President ...
that appeared in the July 14, 2005 issue of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' and, simultaneously, on the website ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
''. The article is focused on the
2000 Simpsonwood CDC conference and claims that
thimerosal-containing vaccines caused autism, as well as the
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
that government health agencies have "colluded with
Big Pharma to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public."
The article had originally been fact-checked and published in print by ''Rolling Stone'', but posted online by ''Salon''.
[ The article was retracted by ''Salon'' on January 16, 2011, in response to criticisms of the article as inaccurate.
]
Reactions
"Deadly Immunity" was heavily criticized for quoting material out of context, and both ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Salon'' eventually amended the story with corrections in response to these and other criticisms.Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
's limit for methylmercury
Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
exposure. The correction later posted to the article on ''Salon'' stated that the actual amount, 187 micrograms, is only 40% greater than this limit. Within days after running the piece, Salon had appended five corrections to it.
Retraction by Salon
On January 16, 2011, ''Salon'' announced that it was retracting "Deadly Immunity". In a statement on the website, Kerry Lauerman, ''Salons editor-in-chief, explained that in addition to five corrections they had previously made to the story, "subsequent critics, including most recently, Seth Mnookin
Seth Mnookin (born April 27, 1972) is an American writer and journalist.
As of 2017, he is a Professor of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT and the Director of Institute's Graduate Program in Science Writing. He is also the media reporter ...
in his book "The Panic Virus," further eroded any faith we had in the story's value."[ ]Phil Plait
Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objec ...
hailed the retraction of the article, writing, "I applaud Salon for doing this, but wish it had been done years ago, or better, that Salon had never published Kennedy's piece at all."
References
{{Reflist
External links
Deadly Immunity
Internet Archive.
Rolling Stone articles
Thiomersal and vaccines
2005 works
Anti-vaccination in the United States