Vaxxed – Die schockierende Wahrheit!?

Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is a 2016 American anti-vaccination film about the alleged involvement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the MMR vaccine controversy. The filmmaker claims that it is a documentary "that explores the journeys of parents whose autistic children were plausibly affected by a vaccine [MMR]", however critics consider it propaganda with David Gorski labeling it a "propaganda film by a known scientific fraud". The film was directed by discredited former physician and anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield and was set for premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival before being removed from screening.

Background

Vorlage:Further2 In 1998 Wakefield published a study in The Lancet suggesting that vaccines caused autism. In 2010 the study was retracted, and Wakefield's medical license was revoked due to "ethical violations and a failure to disclose financial conflicts of interest" and for his invention of evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism. A substantial body of subsequent research has established that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

Del Bigtree, a producer of Vaxxed, was formerly a producer of The Doctors, a daytime US talk show. The British Medical Journal conducted a study on The Doctors and The Dr Oz Show and concluded with this warning about the shows: "Consumers should be skeptical about any recommendations provided ... as details are limited and only a third to one half of recommendations are based on believable or somewhat believable evidence".

CDC Info Statement for MMR Vaccine, 2012 - Challenged in film.

The movie was produced by Autism Media Channel, of which Wakefield is a director.

Narrative

The film features the so-called "CDC whistleblower" anti-vaccination narrative that is based on anti-vaccination activist Brian Hooker's paper describing claims by William Thompson that the CDC had suppressed mention of a correlation between vaccination and autism in African-American boys. The film contains edited excerpts of several phone calls between Hooker and Thompson recorded without Thompson's knowledge. Hooker's paper on the narrative was subsequently retracted due to "serious concerns about the validity of its conclusions".

Criticism

Documentary director Penny Lane stated: Vorlage:Quotation

Dr. Philip LaRussa, a professor of paediatric medicine at Columbia University Medical Centre, stated that "Wakefield’s film acts as if his research had not been revealed as fraudulent and he had not lost his medical license" and noted: Vorlage:Quotation

On the subject of the "CDC whistleblower" narrative, LaRussa said of the film-makers: "They were saying, there’s this silver bullet here, and the CDC is hiding it, and no one else has looked at this issue, which is not the case."

Premiere

The film had been scheduled to premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival was the subject of public outcry and widespread criticism, particularly for allowing Wakefield to distribute his discredited theories. Actor Robert De Niro, who co-founded the festival, initially defended the decision to show the film, writing on Facebook that the film was "very personal" to him due to him having a child with autism, and saying that he hoped the film would open a dialog about the controversy. But shortly before the evening of March 26 De Niro announced that the film would not screen, stating that consultation with other film festival representatives, and members of the scientific community, had led to him to conclude that screening the film would not contribute to or further the discussion of the topic presented.

After the film was dropped, it was picked up for distribution by Cinema Libre. The film premiered at the Angelika Film Center in New York on April 1, 2016 to an audience of "a few dozen", days after it was dropped by the Tribeca Film Festival.

In reaction to Cinema Libre's decision to distribute the film, Todd Drezner, the father of an autistic son and creator of a neurodiversity-themed movie that was distributed by Cinema Libre, wrote an open letter to Cinema Libre criticizing Vaxxed and Cinema Libre's decision to distribute it, writing: "By releasing “Vaxxed,” Cinema Libre is actively harming thousands of autistic people. While we should be discussing ways to best support autistic people and help them lead fulfilling lives, you would instead have us follow a discredited scientist and dishonest filmmaker down a rabbit hole that leads only to long debunked conspiracy theories. I am profoundly disappointed."

See also

• Big Pharma conspiracy theory

External links

• Vorlage:Official website
• Vorlage:IMDb title
• LA Times
• Variety
• Vorlage:Rotten-tomatoes