Gary Michael Null (born January 6, 1945) is an American
talk radio host and author who advocates pseudoscientific
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
and produces a line of questionable
dietary supplements
A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extr ...
.
Null is hostile to
evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
and has accused the medical community of being in
a cabal with the pharmaceutical industry to suppress novel treatments for economic gains. He has promoted a range of
pseudo-scientific and ineffective alternative treatments, including ones for
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
He is a
HIV/AIDS denialist who believes nutritional deficiencies are the causative agents of ''all'' illnesses, and has accordingly promoted fringe, diet-based treatment regimes for curing AIDS and other illnesses.
Null holds strong
anti-vaccination views and rejects the scientific consensus on topics such as
water fluoridation,
genetically modified organisms, and
electromagnetic field
An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical c ...
s.
Reactions in the scholarly community to Null's claims have been generally negative, and Null along with his publications have been frequently criticized for disseminating misleading information that can negatively affect the public's understanding of health issues.
Biography
Null is hostile to many facets of mainstream medicine, arguing that physicians and pharmaceutical companies have an economic interest in promoting rather than preventing sickness, and he has regularly asserted that ''all'' diseases are caused by nutritional deficiencies which can be cured by nutritional supplements.
In place of standard medical therapy, Null advocated
alternative cancer treatments
Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...
such as
Krebiozen
Krebiozen (aka Carcalon, creatine, substance X, or drug X) is a disproven cancer treatment that is made available as an alternative cancer treatment. While the substance has been marketed as a cure for cancer, originally sold for thousands of dol ...
,
laetrile
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums.
Amygdalin is classified as a cya ...
and
Gerson therapy
Max Gerson (October 18, 1881 – March 8, 1959) was a German-born American physician who developed the Gerson Therapy, a dietary-based alternative cancer treatment that he claimed could cure cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases.
...
, asserting that "the alternatives have been covered up by those science writers of the national news media who ride shotgun for the medical establishment's solid-gold cancer train".
Null has also advocated for the long-debunked
Revici's chemotherapy in one of his radio-shows.
Over the years, Null has owned multiple business ventures attempting to sell nutritional supplements for a wide range of diseases and disorders, along with a natural gourmet restaurant, a wellness retreat and an organic farm.
In 1979–80, he co-authored a series of articles on cancer research for ''
Penthouse
Penthouse most often refers to:
*Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building
*Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine
*Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...
'', entitled "The Politics of Cancer", beginning with "The Great Cancer Fraud", which opened: "America's cancer plague has made the medical establishment and its media collaborators rich-even as they suppress new cancer cures". They provided early coverage of the
Burzynski clinic
The Burzynski Clinic is a controversial clinic offering an unproven cancer treatment. It was founded in 1976 and is located in Texas, United States. It is best known for the controversial "antineoplaston therapy" devised by the clinic's founder S ...
, a controversial clinic that offered an unproven cancer treatment, helping to bring it to public prominence,
alleged that mainstream physicians advocate treatments that killed patients sooner than cancer itself and that conventional therapies amplified the disease. In 1985, Null began writing a lengthy series of reports for ''Penthouse'' titled "Medical Genocide" that asserted mainstream medicine was completely ineffective in curing a range of major ailments from cardiac diseases to arthritis.
The series also promoted a range of nutrition regimens and alternative treatments for cancer including but not limited to
laetrile
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums.
Amygdalin is classified as a cya ...
,
krebiozen
Krebiozen (aka Carcalon, creatine, substance X, or drug X) is a disproven cancer treatment that is made available as an alternative cancer treatment. While the substance has been marketed as a cure for cancer, originally sold for thousands of dol ...
,
intermittent fasting and Gerson therapy as first-line therapy.
James Harvey Young
James Harvey Young (September 8, 1915 – July 29, 2006) was social historian most well known as an expert on the history of medical frauds and quackery.
Young was born in Brooklyn, New York. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University ...
described Null as a "zealous journalist of unorthodoxy", in the regard.
Null holds an
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
in
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
from the two-year,
for-profit Mountain State College in
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...
, and a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Thomas Edison State College in human nutrition.
He says he became interested in nutrition shortly after that while he was working as a part-time cook in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
He later enrolled in a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
program in human nutrition and public health sciences from
Union Institute & University
Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...
,
a private
distance-learning college headquartered in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Null's doctoral thesis was entitled "A Study of Psychological and Physiological Effects of Caffeine on Human Health"; the degree was conferred in July 1989.
[Barrett, Stephen; Jarvis, William T. (1993) ''The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America'', Prometheus Books. . pp 378-379.]
Null's academic credentials were investigated by
Stephen Barrett, who expressed sharp skepticism about their quality and the quality of his PhD thesis.
At the time of Null's education, Edison State College was a non-traditional institute that had no campus and conferred degrees via an external degree program, and towards which administrators evaluated "college-level learning achieved through work or life experiences, self-study, college courses taken previously, industry-sponsored education programs, military instruction" and other prior learning.
Similarly, the rules for obtaining a PhD at Union Institute & University were a lot less rigid and allowed students to design their own course curriculum, form their doctoral committee, and were required to attend only a few seminars; 13 years later, it would be subject to sanctions for failing to meet academic standards.
Barrett said that the core member of the committee had no relevant subject expertise, having been chosen from the field of geology, and the other members (barring the peers) had contributed to Null's books or promoted alternative health supplements.
Kurt Butler's 1992 book ''Consumer's Guide to Alternative Medicine'' raised similar questions and also reported that Null had long dodged queries about providing any relevant information (including precise time-spans) for his degrees.
Null is also an
HIV/AIDS denialist and asserts the existence of government conspiracies to suppress effective diet-based treatments for AIDS.
As of 1999, his position was reported to be that the role that
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
played in
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
was not as great as scientists generally believed, a discredited theory.
By 2013, however, Null was writing on his blog that "HIV equals AIDS" was a "myth". His book ''AIDS: A Second Opinion'' advocated for a range of dietary supplements for HIV-positive individuals instead of
antiretroviral medication.
Null also produced a variety of audio-visual media featuring other denialists, who spread misinformation about HIV tests and even alleged of anti-retroviral therapy to be the causative agent of AIDS;
the
OPV AIDS hypothesis was propounded for the first time over one of his radio-shows, by a fellow foot-soldier.
Some of Null's productions portrayed those patients as the real heroes, who rejected anti-retroviral therapy in favor of his nutrition-based regimen.
Null's articles (and alternative treatment regimens) have been featured over the website of
Peter Duesberg
Peter H. Duesberg (born December 2, 1936) is a German-American molecular biologist and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his early research into the genetic aspects of cancer. He ...
.
In 1999, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine wrote of Null: "From a young reporter this is to be expected. But two decades later, Null, 54, is still warning of a variety of medical bogeymen out to gull a trusting public";
other sources have reported Null's view that HIV does not cause
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
.
''
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 ...
'' described his work as "massive, irresponsible and nearly unreadable".
AIDS advocacy groups have asked for his works to be censured, as detrimental to public health.
Seth Kalichman
Seth C. Kalichman is an American clinical community psychologist and professor of social psychology at the University of Connecticut, known for his research into HIV/AIDS treatment and HIV/AIDS denialism. Kalichman is also the director of the So ...
, professor of social psychology at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
, has decried Null's role as a prominent proponent of
AIDS denialism and has accused him of cashing in on HIV/AIDS. In his 2009 book called ''Denying AIDS'', he compared Null's activities to
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements:
...
and described Null as an example of a dangerous entrepreneur who "obviously breached" the balance between
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
and protecting
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
.
Nicoli Nattrass
Nicoli Nattrass (born 30 May 1961) is a South African development economist who is professor of economics at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She is the co-director of the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) and was the f ...
described Null as a 'cultopreneur'.
In 2010, Null reported that he became ill and had to see his doctor and that six other consumers were hospitalized for
vitamin D poisoning after ingesting a nutritional supplement manufactured by his own contractor. In a lawsuit against the company, he alleged that the supplement erroneously contained more than 1,000 times the dose of
vitamin D
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
reported on the label. Null received numerous telephone calls from customers while himself in severe pain.
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that Null's experience "should give pause to anyone lured by the extravagant claims of many supplement makers", and said that it was common for dietary supplements to contain doses "wildly different than those indicated on their label" as a result of weak
regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
.
Null had been a keynote speaker at a rally opposing mandatory
H1N1 influenza
In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the Spanish flu, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus ...
vaccination during the
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
, leading the
New York State Department of Health to hold a simultaneous conference to dismiss Null's claims about the vaccine as "not scientifically credible" by discussing the
clinical trials
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...
.
Null had opposed public vaccination deeming them as unsafe and ineffective treatments; he has also promoted discredited notions of vaccines causing
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
and other ailments, including leading to infant death.
Discussing Null's anti-vaccination efforts,
Harriet Hall
Harriet A. Hall (born July 2, 1945) is a U.S. retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery for ''Skeptic'' and ''Skeptical Inquirer''. She writes under the name The ...
deems Null to have a bad track record for scientific credibility.
[ Hall, Harriet.]
Swine flu vaccine fearmongering
" ''Skeptic
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
'' ltadena, CA vol. 15, no. 3, 2010, p. 16+. ''Gale In Context: Biography''. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.
Jonathan Howard, former director of Neurology department at
Bellevue Hospital, stated that Null's book ''Death by Medicine'' (wherein he had calculated conventional medicine to be the single-largest cause of death in America), was statistically flawed and ill-intended, with an aim to gain on a potential rift between patients and mainstream physicians.
Null has been also a supporter of
touch therapy and
magnet therapy
Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic t ...
, both of which have been long determined to not provide any tangible health benefits.
[ See archived online version ]Electromagnetic therapy
Electromagnetic therapy or electromagnetic field therapy refers to therapy involving the use of magnets or electromagnets.
Types include :
*Bioelectromagnetics, the study of how electromagnetic fields interact with and influence biological proce ...
is a related field. See chapter in ACS book just referenced, an
archived ACS webpage
on that. In a product brochure, he falsely claimed of magnets being inserted in space suits to avoid adverse complications in astronauts. He has also promoted
homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
, vouched for
pangamic acid
Pangamic acid, also called pangamate, is the name given to a chemical compound discovered by Ernst T. Krebs Sr. His son, Ernst T. Krebs Jr., promoted it as a medicinal compound for use in treatment of a wide range of diseases. They also termed t ...
to be Vitamin B15.
Butler referred to Null's very many fringe assertions in the field of nutrition spanning from claims that fatty meats are difficult to digest, that meats do not provide any energy and milk is not a good source of calcium, to the claim Vitamin C increases body requirements for iron and certain nutrients are preferable to be consumed in daytime, while the rest in night-time.
Null also recommends
coffee enemas and advocates for
cranial osteopathy
Craniosacral therapy (CST) or cranial osteopathy is a form of alternative therapy that uses gentle touch to palpate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. CST is a pseudoscience and its practice has been characterized as quackery. It is base ...
,
applied kinesiology and
pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.
Corby Kummer noted Null's ''Vegetarian Handbook'' to contain an outlandish combination of plant foods supposedly high in protein.
Null has produced many works (incl. television programs and books) about reversing aging; he rejects mainstream scholarship deeming the inevitable progression of senescence as normalcy and instead typifies a popular mis-construal about the aging body being an abnormal deviant.
''
Science-Based Medicine
''Science-Based Medicine'' is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society and run by Steven N ...
'' described Null as a consistent opponent of
evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
.
Butler said Null was the foremost promoter of dangerous health-related misinformation to the public and sarcastically remarked that Null is so often wrong, it may be better for an average audience to believe the precise opposite of what he says.
Null has been a popular author and commands a large following.
He has been criticised by fellow practitioners of alternative medicine including
Andrew Weil,
People With AIDS.
He has been frequently published over ''
Townsend Letter
''Townsend Letter'', formerly ''Townsend Letter for Doctors'', then ''Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients'', is a periodical focusing on alternative medicine which has been in circulation since 1983.
The website Quackwatch has listed the ''Tow ...
'', a periodical focusing on
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
.
Media work
Null began broadcasting a syndicated radio talk show, ''Natural Living with Gary Null'', in 1980. His show was broadcast first on
WBAI
WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...
, then on the VoiceAmerica Network and over the Internet. Null's show subsequently returned to WBAI, leading to protests from
ACT-UP New York and other AIDS activist groups concerned by Null's promotion of AIDS denialism.
He continues to host ''The Gary Null Show'' through the Progressive Radio Network, which he established in 2005. His shows attracted about a fifth of the total audience-subscriptions to WBAI circa 1994
and he was speculated to have incurred the maximum revenues, in the history of the WBAI station, even during its brief shutdown in October 2019. Butler has written that Null has provided potentially dangerous and outright dubious medical advice to a variety of patient-callers via these fora.
PBS
Null has made several self-funded and self-produced documentary films on
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
, personal health, and development. These have been aired by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
during pledge drives, leading to a surge in sales of his books.
The use of Null's films in PBS pledge drives has raised ethical concerns for those involved with the network, who felt that Null's claims were pseudo-scientific and that PBS should not promote them.
While Null's films were highly
effective in generating financial contributions, the president of PBS,
Ervin Duggan
Ervin S. Duggan is a retired American media businessman who has served in several management positions, most notably as president of PBS.
Originally from South Carolina and a graduate of Davidson College, Duggan was appointed as a member of the F ...
, expressed concern that such programming "open
dthe door to quacks and charlatans".
Some member stations have refused to broadcast his programs.
''
Discover
Discover may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album
* ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine
Businesses and brands
* DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation''
* Di ...
'' magazine's
Keith Kloor condemned Null's 2012 documentary film ''Seeds of Death: Unveiling the Lies of GMOs'', writing that the film:
Film
Null has written, directed and self-produced dozens of documentary-style films. ''
Poverty Inc'' was released in 2014 to poor reviews from critics.
Other films include ''Autism: Made in the U.S.A.'' (2009) and ''Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own'' (2007).
Miami New Times
The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District.
Overview
It was acquired by Village Voic ...
br>Gulf War Syndrome: Killing Our Own (NR)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Null, Gary
1945 births
Living people
People from Parkersburg, West Virginia
Thomas Edison State University alumni
American health activists
American nutritionists
American talk radio hosts
American documentary filmmakers
Pseudoscientific diet advocates
American anti-vaccination activists
Businesspeople from West Virginia
American health and wellness writers
American self-help writers
Union Institute & University alumni
HIV/AIDS denialists
Anti-GMO activists
Penthouse (magazine) people
American conspiracy theorists